An accused gunman charged with the July shooting of a police officer in Waianae has been indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with an armed robbery of a convenience store that occurred a day before the shooting.
The grand jury Thursday returned an indictment against Tony D.V. Souza, charging him with robbery and firearm charges in the July 28 store robbery. Court documents claim he brandished a firearm and threatened an employee at a store in Waianae.
He allegedly discharged a gunshot “to the side of the employee” before he fled with an undisclosed amount of money. No injuries were reported.
Arriving in a wheelchair, Souza, 47, appeared Monday at his arraignment at Circuit Court via closed-circuit video link from the Oahu Community Correctional Center on a separate case involving charges of two counts of first-degree attempted murder and three counts of firearm offenses in the July 29 shooting.
Honolulu Deputy Public Defender Jacquelyn Esser entered a not-guilty plea to all charges on Souza’s behalf. Judge Melanie May denied a request for a bail reduction and confirmed Souza’s bail at $1 million. His trial is set for October.
The July 29 shooting occurred at a home on Alta Street where plainclothes
officers of the District 8 Crime Reduction Unit arrived to investigate a tip on a case involving fraudulent use of a credit card.
The officers entered a bedroom where Souza allegedly stepped out of a closet and shot a police officer.
Honolulu Police Chief Susan Ballard has said Souza was not the credit card fraud suspect police were looking for.
Souza then fled the bedroom and pointed his gun at another officer. Ballard said the officer discharged one gunshot, striking him in the hand and leg.
The injured officer, who was struck in the upper chest and hand by a single bullet, was taken in critical condition to a hospital. Souza was taken in serious condition.
He was on parole for a separate attempted murder case at the time of the armed robbery and shooting.
Souza was convicted in 1990 in an unprovoked
stabbing attack involving
a friend. Court documents indicated he was under
the influence of crystal methamphetamine when
he repeatedly stabbed the
victim.
