A 24-year-old Waimea woman was arrested this morning after an alleged robbery shortly after 9 a.m. today at the Malama Market in the Puna Kai Shopping Center in Pahoa.
According to Capt. Scott Amaral of Puna Patrol Division, Isabella Gonzales was taken into custody and booked on suspicion of first-degree robbery and first-degree terroristic threatening.
“She reportedly had been observed shoplifting from the business and she assaulted a store employee,” Amaral said. “When she exited the business, she brandished a firearm, like a pistol, at store employees.”
Gonzales remains in custody while the investigation continues.
According to Amaral, a store employee suffered minor injuries.
Amaral said Malama Market went into a lockdown “to ensure the safety of their employees and customers.”
“The firearm was not discharged, even though on social media they are claiming it was,” Amaral said. “Although she did make threats toward store employees.”
According to Amaral, Gonzales was outside the store when the pistol was allegedly brandished.
Amaral said responding officers located Gonzales “several hundred yards away from the business” and arrested her at 9:13 a.m.
Amaral declined to say whether a firearm was recovered, replying that the investigation was being assumed by the Hilo Criminal Investigations Section. He said police detectives are obtaining a search warrant on a bag in Gonzales’s possession when she was arrested.
“The store did a great job of locking down the premises and assuring the safety of its customers and employees,” Amaral said.
See Tuesday’s Tribune-Herald for complete story.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.