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A 26-year-old homeless man, who may be responsible for a rash of robberies in central Oahu, used a knife to threaten a cashier and hide his face with scarf when he allegedly held up a Waipahu restaurant Saturday morning, according to court documents.
Lindsey Furtado, who lives in Waipahu District Park, then ran into a Kahuamoku Place apartment complex near the park to hide, witnesses told police.
Furtado was charged Sunday with first-degree robbery and unauthorized entry into a dwelling. His bail was set at $250,000.
His preliminary hearing will be held in District Court Wednesday afternoon.
Police said Furtado robbed Elena’s with a 12-inch knife at about 7:10 a.m. Saturday and fled with cash.
According to a police affidavit Furtado demanded money from the cashier who was holding the cash till in her hands.
After taking money from the till the suspect fled the small Moloalo street shopping complex.
A witness who knows the suspect told police that he saw Furtado run into a second-floor apartment on Kahuamoku Place about a block away from the crime scene, according to the police affidavit.
Furtado was captured and arrested and later identified by three witnesses as the man who robbed Elena’s.
Police said detectives are investigating whether Furtado is connected with some of the recent robberies of businesses on Oahu.
Furtado’s friends have said the suspect admitted to robbing several area businesses. The suspect also bragged about robbing four businesses last week.
He has not been arrested for any of the nearly dozen holdups of fast food restaurants and businesses that have occurred during the past month,
Last week police said at least three bandits or groups of criminals are responsible for the string of robberies at fast-food restaurants, convenience stores and banks over the past several months.
