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Honolulu man charged with 7-Eleven robberies and carjacking appears in court

HONOLULU POLICE DEPARTMENT
                                Moahengi Pakileata

HONOLULU POLICE DEPARTMENT

Moahengi Pakileata

A 19-year-old Honolulu man made his initial appearance in federal court Tuesday on charges of two convenience store robberies and a carjacking, a U.S. Attorney’s Office news release announced.

Moahengi Pakileata was charged Friday by criminal complaint for two robberies that interfered with commerce, the use of a firearm during one robbery and a carjacking of a student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

The judge ordered him to be detained until a detention hearing on Friday.

Pakileata and a second unidentified man robbed a 7-Eleven at gunpoint on Aug. 11, and he robbed a second 7-Eleven on Jan. 12, the complaint alleges.

On Jan. 13, he carjacked a UH student while wearing a security guard uniform and brandishing a knife, the complaint also alleges.

The charges carry maximum terms of 20 and 15 years’ imprisonment, respectively, and fines of up to $250,000 each. The firearm charge carries a seven-year mandatory minimum term of imprisonment.

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