Mark Sykap, 18, arrested in connection with Chinatown theft case
The older brother of a teen who was shot and killed by Honolulu police has been arrested again.
A Honolulu Police Department booking log shows that Mark Sykap, 18, was arrested on Saturday for theft in the second degree, promoting a dangerous drug in the third degree and criminal contempt of court. The location of the arrest was near the intersection of N. Nimitz Highway and River Street in Chinatown.
Mark Sykap’s younger brother Iremamber Sykap, 16, of Aiea, died from multiple gunshot wounds after police shot him following an alleged crime spree on April 5. Police said the Honda Civic that Iremamber Sykap was driving was stolen and involved in an armed robbery 20 minutes before it was spotted at a beach park in East Honolulu, and was also linked to other crimes.
A police pursuit ended when the Honda, carrying six occupants and heading into oncoming traffic on Kalakaua, rammed through police cars and went into the canal after three officers fired seven to eight shots at the vehicle.
Honolulu police arrested Mark Sykap, who was injured in the gunfire on April 5, on suspicion of three counts of first-degree attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle and a drug charge. Kealii Fernandez, 21, was arrested for unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle.
On April 24, police arrested and charged Mark Sykap in connection with a second-degree robbery near the site where a makeshift memorial has been established for his brother. Another Sykap brother 21-year-old Maruo Sykap was charged with assault in the second degree.
Don't miss out on what's happening!
Stay in touch with top news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It's FREE!
In that case, police said the brothers used physical force and a “dangerous instrument” to force a 20-year-old woman to relinquish her property and then fled. The woman, who sustained minor injuries, was treated and released at a nearby hospital, police said.
Mark Sykap’s latest arrest comes less than two weeks after an Oahu District Court judge declined to prosecute the three Honolulu police officers who had opened fire on Iremamber Sykap and his crew after he ignored their orders to surrender and led them on a daredevil chase at rush hour.
In June, an Oahu grand jury did not return a true bill against the men but Prosecuting Attorney Steven S. Alm decided to charge them via criminal complaint.
Star-Advertiser reporter Peter Boylan contributed to this story.