Suspect, 19, confesses to ranch purse-snatching, police say

A 19-year-old Kahaluu man has confessed to participating in a violent purse-snatching Sunday near Kualoa Ranch, during which a Japanese tourist was hit by a car and dragged, according to court documents.

Zechariah Kanealii-Goins was arrested Sunday for allegedly driving without a license. He was later charged with second-degree robbery after he told investigating detectives that he took part in the crime. Also arrested on suspicion of second-degree robbery was a boy, 17, who was turned over to Family Court because he is a minor.

A preliminary hearing for Kanealii-Goins will be held Thursday in District Court. He was being held at Oahu Community Correctional Center in lieu of $25,000 bail.

Police said the incident occurred shortly after 9:30 a.m. on Kamehameha Highway in front of Kualoa Ranch.

The victim, a 26-year-old woman, said a man grabbed her purse and jumped into a white Ford Explorer that fled north on the highway.

According to police, the victim ran after the Explorer, trying to retrieve her purse, when she was hit and dragged by the vehicle. She was treated by paramedics and taken to a hospital in serious condition.

Police later stopped the Explorer at Kekio and Puakenikeni roads in Kaaawa, 2-1/2 miles north of the crime scene. The affidavit said Kanealii-Goins was driving and the other teen was a passenger.

During an interview with detectives at the Kaneohe police station, Kanealii-Goins confessed to being an accessory to the crime, the police affidavit said.

Last year, a violent purse-snatching in Waikiki claimed the life of a 52-year-old grandmother.

Julie Stephenson was on the steps of her condo when a man approached from behind, grabbed her purse and violently threw her to the ground in front of the secured Tradewinds building in Wai­kiki. She suffered multiple injuries including a broken hip, and also had internal bleeding. She was in a coma for three weeks and died Feb. 26, 2014.

Josiah L. Figue­roa, 24, will face a Circuit Court jury trial Oct. 26, after being charged with second-degree robbery and manslaughter. He is being held in OCCC, unable to raise bail of $500,000.

Manslaughter is a Class A felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison, but prosecutors could seek an extended term that would increase prison time to life.