Despite mayhem, Kalihi’s crime rate akin to last year’s

A number of violent crimes in the public eye have occurred in Kalihi in the past two months, but crime data show those incidents so far aren’t exceeding last year’s rate.

One of the most troubling crimes in Kalihi of late was the brazen robbery by three teens of a corner store on Gulick Avenue, where one of the suspects was caught on video surveillance cameras placing a chokehold on the 76-year-old female store owner until she went limp and fell to the floor.

“Like other heavily populated parts of the island, Kalihi has its share of spikes in criminal activity,” said HPD Assistant Chief Alan Bluemke of the Central Patrol Bureau.

Police statistics for violent crimes in the Honolulu Police Department’s Kalihi District 5 during the first six months of 2016 are similar to those of the first half of 2015. The large, sprawling district spans from Salt Lake to Nuuanu.

So far this year, aggravated assaults number 47, robberies 76, and there have been three homicides. In 2015 for the same period, there were 48 assaults, 71 robberies and three homicides.

“Whenever a jump or trend in property or violent crime does occur, the department uses crime mapping and analysis to identify common elements and to support the work done by patrol officers and detectives,” Bluemke said. “The stats for the first half of 2016 are similar to the same period in 2015. Our goal is always to reduce crime, and we’ll continue to partner with everyone who’s willing to work with us to address criminal activity.”

The Gulick Avenue mom-and-pop store, Y-7 Liquor &Grocery, owned by a couple in their 70s, was hit twice within a week in May by teenage robbers.

The video of the choking of Ok Cha Kim on May 19 while the choker’s accomplice emptied the cash register and another acted as lookout went viral on social media. Authorities later arrested and charged a 15-year-old boy on suspicion of first-degree robbery.

A 17-year-old boy was also arrested and charged for a robbery just six days earlier, on May 13, at the same store. In that case three masked male suspects, armed with a knife and a stick, demanded money from Kim’s 74-year-old husband.

On June 22, in broad daylight on a crowded Kalihi neighborhood street with dozens of people around, 33-year-old Brandon Reis allegedly walked up and fired a handgun at 36-year-old Kyen Knowles, who was seated in his car on Waterhouse Street.

Knowles tried to reverse his vehicle, but police said Reis fired his gun into the car and missed. Knowles was killed as he was trying to get out of the car and it ran over him.

His family said Knowles was picking up food for his three children when he reportedly got into an argument with someone at a fast-food restaurant prior to the shooting. Reis was indicted on second-degree attempted murder and four weapon charges.

In yet another case that caught the attention of the public when portions of the H-1 freeway were shut down, a 19-year-old allegedly violently attacked a man in an early morning fight on Memorial Day at a convenience store on North School Street.

Rimoni Pologa-Seiuli allegedly chased Riley Meade, 48, into the street, where witnesses said the teen punched Meade, pushed him down and kicked him in the face. Ultimately, Meade reportedly fell and hit his face on the curb.

The Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Meade’s death a homicide, saying his heart stopped during a violent physical struggle, but his underlying medical problems of hypertension and hardening of the arteries contributed to his death.

After the altercation, Po­loga-Seiuli was found on H-1’s Gulick Avenue overpass, apparently ready to jump off. A police officer pleaded with him for more than an hour, while the freeway below was closed to traffic.

He was eventually grabbed and pulled over the railing to safety. He was initially arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder but was later charged with first-degree assault.

In the most recent incidence of violence in Kalihi, in the early morning hours of July 7, an unknown assailant stabbed a 30-year-old man multiple times at a Lopez Lane address. The case was classified as a second-degree attempted murder.