Suspect arrested in gunpoint robbery

Numerous tips to CrimeStoppers led to the arrest Thursday of a 34-year-old homeless man at a hotel near Honolulu Airport in connection with a brazen armed robbery of a soccer mom at Kapiolani Park.

Police arrested the suspect, who is on parole for a robbery conviction in May 2014, on suspicion of first-degree robbery and kidnapping at 6:20 a.m. at the Pacific Marina Inn on Waiwai Loop.

He has not been charged. First-degree robbery is a Class A felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

CrimeStoppers and police received numerous tips Wednesday after releasing surveillance photos of a man seen using a stolen credit card from the victim in Haleiwa. CrimeStoppers also released photos of the man’s car.

The suspect has five prior felony convictions, including one for second-degree robbery last year, according to the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center. His other felony convictions are for breaking into cars on three different occasions and criminal property damage.

The gunpoint robbery in daylight of the soccer mom waiting in her car while her daughter practiced at Kapiolani Park has shocked parents.

Police said the 46-year-old woman was seated in her vehicle at about 5:20 p.m. Monday when a man entered from the passenger’s side, showed her a handgun and demanded her belongings.

The victim told police that an unknown man entered her car, pointed a gun at her and forced her to drive him around the park. He eventually ordered her to stop the car, and he fled with her jewelry, purse and cellphone, said Scott Keopuhiwa, president of the Hawaii Youth Soccer Association.

Keopuhiwa, who was coaching the victim’s daughter’s team at the time of the robbery, wrote to soccer parents, urging everyone to be cautious of their surroundings.