Posted at 10:05 a.m, Friday, April 06, 2001

Robbery suspect nabbed in ocean chase

By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer

Ten Kahalu'u canoe paddlers and two police officers in a double-hulled canoe sped after a 19-year-old home-invasion suspect in an ocean chase last night, grabbing him about an eighth of a mile offshore.

Bystanders on shore hummed the theme from "Hawaii Five-O" when police and paddlers returned to shore with the suspect about 7 p.m.

Police said the man is a suspect in the home-invasion robbery of a Punalu'u couple that began at about 3 p.m. yesterday.

Police said the robbery started when a 62-year-old resident of Kamehameha Highway allowed a man to use his phone. The man's accomplice snuck into the house and they forced the homeowner into a chair and bound him.

A short time later, the man's 60-year-old wife arrived. She was also bound.

The robbers stole several items, then each took one of the couple's cars. A short time later, one of the men crashed.

The driver ran and as police cornered him, he jumped into the ocean.

Ten Keahiakahoe Canoe Club paddlers were nearby.

"A police officer drove up and asked if we had a boat," said Keahiakahoe coach Stan Dickson.

Two officers joined the paddlers in a fiberglass double-hull canoe and chased the swimmer toward Kualoa. They caught up with the tired suspect, who, at first, didn't realize HPD officers were on the canoe .

The second robber remains at large today.