Man charged in armed robbery of 2 Oahu gas stations in 3 hours

A 38-year-old man has been accused of robbing two gas stations in Waipahu and Punchbowl at gunpoint within a three-hour span Friday.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii federally charged Keaka M. Miller over the weekend in connection with the armed robbery of NomNom Express at the 76 gas station in Waipahu on Friday and a second armed robbery at the Texaco gas station in Punchbowl.

Miller remains in custody at the Honolulu Federal Detention Center. The government filed a motion at federal court Monday seeking to detain him without bail. A hearing is scheduled to be held today.

The first robbery occurred at NomNom, 94-120 Farrington Highway, at about 10:10 a.m. Friday.

According to an FBI affidavit filed in federal court, the suspect initially entered the store and grabbed a couple of water bottles and an energy drink. He then walked to another section of the store while the cashier assisted another customer.

Once the customer left, the suspect allegedly brandished a gun at the cashier and demanded money. He then fled the store in a white sedan with cash and 14 packs of cigarettes.

Nearly three hours later police responded to a report of a second armed robbery at Texaco at 140 S. School St.

The affidavit said the suspect, clad in black clothing and a red face mask, pointed a handgun at a cashier at about 12:45 p.m.

He then lifted the counter partition, approached the cashier and allegedly pressed the firearm against the victim’s stomach while demanding money. The affidavit also alleged the robber then grabbed money from the register and fled in a sedan.

Police searched for the suspect later identified as Miller and spotted him near an apartment building on Green Street in the Punchbowl area. Additional officers responded to the scene and set up a perimeter around the apartment complex where they detained him.

The affidavit alleged the description of the suspect in the first robbery matched that of Miller. Police said the vehicle the suspect drove off in the NomNom robbery also matched the description of the vehicle used in the Texaco robbery.

Police arrested Miller shortly before 3 p.m. Friday on suspicion of two counts of first-degree robbery and one count of second-degree robbery. Law enforcement also recovered video surveillance from both gas stations and turned over the case to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii.

Miller has a criminal record of felony burglary, misdemeanor resisting arrest and petty misdemeanor harassment and criminal property damage.