Mo-ped rider tries to kidnap girls
The public’s help is being sought locating a man wanted as a suspect in two separate cases of attempted kidnapping involving underage girls in Makiki and Moiliili.
Police said that about 7 a.m. Tuesday, a girl was walking on Citron Street when she was approached by a man on a red-and-white mo-ped. The man got off the mo-ped and followed her behind a building when he pushed her down and attempted to make her ingest a pill.
The girl screamed and spit out the pill, police said. A neighbor then yelled at the man, who then fled on his mo-ped.
Police said that about noon last Christmas Day, an underage girl was walking in front of Makiki Cemetery when she saw a man on a mo-ped following her. The man got off the mo-ped and followed her, and then grabbed her and held her against a cemetery wall, police said.
The girl was able to escape after kicking her attacker, police said.
The two victims happen to be friends, police said, and the more recent victim told the first victim about what happened to her. At that point, the first victim told her friend something similar happened to her, police said.
The suspect is described as in his 50s, between 5 feet 4 and 5 feet 8 inches tall, heavyset, with gray and wavy neck-length hair, and brown eyes. He rides an older model mo-ped that has scratches and is red and white.
Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300 or *CRIME on a cellphone.
Man due in court on attempted murder rap
A 31-year-old Honolulu man is scheduled for a preliminary hearing today in Honolulu District Court on a first-degree attempted murder charge for allegedly trying to run down a patrol officer with a stolen car last week in Chinatown.
Brandon Helekahi also was charged with vehicle theft.
Police said a stolen green Jeep Cherokee was stopped by officers on Vineyard Boulevard at Aala Street about 11:30 a.m. March 28.
When the female driver, 36, stepped out of the vehicle, her male passenger jumped into the driver’s seat, and nearly ran over an officer as he sped away eastbound on Vineyard, police said. The officer was struck by the car but not injured, according to police. The woman, of a Papakolea address, was arrested for allegedly driving a stolen vehicle and driving without a license.
Helekahi’s record shows that he was convicted of theft March 8 and sentenced to four days in jail, fined $200 and released on March 14 from Oahu Community Correctional Center. He also has seven other misdemeanor convictions, including theft and abuse of family a member beginning in 1999.
