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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 3:55 p.m., Tuesday, June 3, 2008

'LOST' ROBBERY
'Lost' star's attacker sent to prison

Advertiser Staff

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Ruben Royce, right, shown here in Circuit Court today with public defender Theresa Marshall, was sentenced today to 13 to 30 years in prison for a series of home-invasion robberies, including one of "Lost" star Josh Holloway and his wife.

BRUCE ASATO | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Ruben Royce, 23, will serve between 13 and 30 years in prison for committing a "tidal wave of crime" that terrorized victims, including an elderly couple and Josh Holloway, a co-star of the hit television series "Lost."

Royce admitted committing four home-invasion robberies in September and October of 2005 and was convicted in a jury trial last year of involvement in a fifth.

Circuit Judge Karl Sakamoto called it "a tidal wave of crime" that "terrorized" victims in their own homes.

Holloway did not testify at today's hearing, although he may speak later when the Hawaii Paroling Authority decides the minimum time Royce must serve before being considered for parole.

Royce was accused of breaking into Holloway's Hawai'i Kai home at about 4 a.m. Oct. 12, 2005, and stealing money, credit cards and Holloway's Mercedes-Benz.

Prosecutors previously said Royce had threatened to shoot Holloway and his wife if they didn't open their bedroom door.

Prosecutors said Royce chose homes at random around Honolulu, looking for expensive cars and assuming that the residents would have money.

But in Holloway's case, Royce may have known that the home was the actor's residence because Royce at one point lived near the Holloways, prosecutors said.