Kaneohe robbery suspect fired shots during chase, police say

The 30-year-old suspect who allegedly shot at and robbed a 46-year-old man March 9 at a Kaneohe gas station made his initial appearance in Honolulu District Court on Thursday.

Patrick Hanawahine is charged with second-­degree attempted murder, first-degree robbery and three firearm offenses.

A police affidavit filed Thursday in court describes a fierce encounter between Hanawahine and the man he allegedly robbed, with the two tangling in a gas station parking lot before setting off on a car chase.

The sequence of events began at about 7:45 p.m. when Hanawahine allegedly approached Kevin Fitzgerald, who had parked his Ford F-250 truck at the Texaco gas station at the Windward City Shopping Center. While Fitzgerald was seated in the driver’s seat, Hana­wahine spoke to him, then opened the passenger door and asked for money, the affidavit said.

Fitzgerald told police he recognized Hanawahine from a prior encounter at a convenience store.

Hanawahine allegedly grabbed Fitzgerald’s wallet, cellphone and cash from the truck’s cup holder and tried to flee. Fitzgerald tried to stop him, and as they struggled, he grabbed a silver necklace from Hanawahine’s neck and ripped the black latex gloves he was wearing, the affidavit said. He then got Hanawahine to drop some of the stolen items before the suspect fled on Aumoku Street toward a McDonald’s restaurant with what Fitzgerald believed was his cellphone.

Fitzgerald got into his truck and chased Hana­wahine, who was on foot, through the parking lot and managed to block him from getting into a dark-colored SUV. At that point Hana­wahine allegedly pointed a handgun at Fitzgerald, striking the driver’s-side hood and shattering a truck window before getting into the SUV’s front passenger seat, according to the affidavit.

Hanawahine took off in the SUV, and Fitzgerald pursued it back to Aumoku Street, then onto Kaneohe Bay Drive toward the H-3 freeway. Fitzgerald said that as Hanawahine approached the intersection of Kaneohe Bay Drive and Kameha­meha Highway, he hit the rear of the SUV, pushing it into the intersection. That’s when Hanawahine allegedly leaned out of the passenger seat and fired several shots at him, Fitzgerald told police.

Fitzgerald said he lost track of the SUV after it headed west on the H-3, and he returned to the Texaco station, where police were waiting.

Officers found his cellphone in a grassy area near Koa Kahiko Street and recovered 9-mm bullet casings, the affidavit said.

Numerous anonymous tipsters informed police that Hanawahine was the suspect in the incident. He was arrested Tuesday in Waianae on suspicion of first-degree robbery and firearm charges.