A 37-year-old man who has been charged with robbery allegedly brandished a knife at a Japanese visitor in Waikiki and demanded she hand over her handbag, according to a court document.

Gabriel M. Stan is expected to appear at his preliminary hearing today at Honolulu District Court after he was charged Tuesday with first-degree robbery. He remains in custody in lieu of $50,000 bail.

Shortly after 10:30 p.m. Monday, police said the visitor, 19, had stepped out of McDonald’s on Kuhio Avenue when a male later identified as Stan wielded a knife and demanded her bag, according to the court document.

The woman sustained abrasions to her knees when she fell as she struggled to hold onto her bag as he attempted to take it, the document said.

Police said Stan fled the scene without the victim’s bag.

A taxi driver and another male flagged down police officers to report the robbery.

Officers arrested Stan just after 1:10 a.m. Tuesday after they found him sleeping on a towel under a palm tree at Fort DeRussy Beach Park.

Police had stopped Stan at about 12:40 a.m. Monday after a man observed him stabbing a tree with the same knife he allegedly used in the robbery almost 10 hours later.