A 24-year-old Waianae man was charged Tuesday in connection with the death of a 52-year-old grandmother after a violent purse-snatching in front of her secured Waikiki apartment on Super Bowl Sunday.
Police arrested Josiah L. Figueroa at 5:20 p.m. Monday at his Paakea Road home. He also was arrested on several contempt charges. Prosecutors on Tuesday charged Figueroa with second-degree robbery and manslaughter in the death of Jullie Stephenson.
His bail is $500,000.
Manslaughter is a Class A felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison, but prosecutors could seek an extended term that would increase prison time to life.
Stephenson’s sister, Pamela Spadaro of Texas, said police sent her a text Monday night to inform her of the arrest, which she was expecting because officers had video surveillance of the suspect. She said the arrest was another step for the family toward closure.
"We’re very happy with what the Honolulu Police Department has done to bring Jullie’s killer to justice," Spadaro said by phone from Dallas. "Now it’s just a matter of getting a conviction."
Stephenson’s daughter Jennifer Feathers of Oklahoma was still in Honolulu when the family learned of the arrest. She is returning to the mainland Wednesday.
"It’s been the most difficult for her because she used to talk to Jullie every day," Spadaro said.
Police said a man attacked Stephenson at about 9:20 p.m. Feb. 2 in front of her apartment building, Tradewinds, at 1720 Ala Moana Blvd.
Stephenson was taken to Straub Clinic & Hospital with multiple injuries including a broken hip and was bleeding internally.
She was in a coma for three weeks and died Feb. 26.
After an autopsy, police reclassified the case from robbery to manslaughter.
Family members said she had been on her way home from work as a bartender at Assagio Ristorante Italiano at Ala Moana Center and was on the steps of her condo when a man approached from behind, grabbed her purse and violently threw her to the ground.
Stephenson had worked at Assagio for 12 years.
Stephenson, a 1979 Kaiser High School graduate, is survived by three children and four grandchildren.
Figueroa was convicted in 2010 for driving without a license. He was fined $75 and granted a deferred acceptance of a guilty motion. In such cases a conviction is removed from a criminal record if the offender meets court-set terms over a five-year period.
Star-Advertiser reporter Rob Shikina contributed to this report.
