A 31-year-old Hilo man allegedly threatened to torch a homeless camp in Kailua-Kona unless one of its residents allowed him to steal cash from the resident’s employer.
Antanacious Keoni Nau is charged with first-degree extortion and second-degree burglary for the incident, which allegedly took place in the early morning hours of July 6.
According to court documents filed by police, Nau approached the victim, a 27-year-old man, at between 2 and 3 a.m. that morning while the victim was at his campsite, located in a tunnel area beneath Queen Kaahumanu Highway and Henry Street in Kailua-Kona.
Nau allegedly told the man, who worked at Journey Cafe in Kailua-Kona, that if the man didn’t let Nau take the cash from the two registers inside the eatery, he would “burn down the homeless camp and everyone in it.”
Nau allegedly was aware that the man had access to the establishment. The man told officers he was afraid Nau would make good on his threat and hurt the camp’s occupants unless he followed Nau’s orders. So the man and Nau walked to Journey Cafe, entered the premises, and Nau allegedly took the cash from both registers, a total of $400.
Police were contacted, and Nau was arrested at about 6:20 p.m. Tuesday in Kona, according to the documents.
At Nau’s initial court appearance Wednesday, Deputy Public Defender Nicole O’Kief requested a reduction in Nau’s $7,000 bail, while Deputy Prosecutor Frederick Macapinlac asked the court to maintain the bail.
Kona District Judge Kimberly Taniyama reduced Nau’s bail to $2,000 and ordered him to return to court today for a preliminary hearing.
The more severe charge, extortion, is a Class B felony punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment. Second-degree burglary is a Class C felony, and a conviction carries a maximum prison term of five years.
According to court records, Nau is on probation for a 2022 conviction for second-degree burglary.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.