Man charged with robbing Holloway
A 21-year-old man was indicted by the O‘ahu grand jury yesterday on charges of robbing "Lost'' television actor Josh Holloway and his wife at their Hawai‘i Kai home last year and four other home invasion cases around Honolulu.
In one of the other robberies, Ruben E. Royce is charged with attempted murder for allegedly firing a semi-automatic .45-caliber gun at the victims.
City Deputy Prosecutor Maurice Arrisgado told Circuit Judge Derrick Chan that Royce committed the robberies during a "crime spree'' from Sept. 28 to Oct. 18 of last year, when he was arrested.
Royce, who was on probation for two auto theft cases, is currently at the O‘ahu Community Correctional Center awaiting two trials scheduled for later this year on felony charges that include second-degree assault, burglary and stolen car counts.
Chan approved Arrisgado’s request to set bail at $1 million for yesterday’s indictment.
Royce will plead not guilty when he is arraigned later, Deputy Public Defender Theresa Marshall said.
"We look forward to the evidence that the state will produce,'' she said.
Royce was indicted yesterday on 30 felony charges that include attempted second-degree murder, armed robbery, first-degree burglary, second-degree theft, fraudulent use of a credit card and firearm violations.
Attempted second-degree murder carries a mandatory life term with parole. The armed robbery charges each carry prison terms of up to 20 years.
In the Holloway case, Royce is accused of breaking into the couple’s home at about 4 a.m. Oct. 12 and stealing money, credit cards and Holloway’s Mercedes-Benz.
Arrisgado said Royce had threatened to shoot the couple if they didn’t open their bedroom door.
He 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, Arrisgado said.
The grand jury session yesterday was the third in the case as prosectors presented about 25 witnesses before the panel. The Holloways testified at one of the earlier sessions last month.
The case involving the attempted murder charge is related to a home invasion robbery in Mo‘ili‘ili three days before the Holloway robbery. In the Mö‘ili‘ili case, two residents were trying to keep the door closed as Royce was trying to push his way in, the deputy prosecutor said.
Royce put his hand through the door and fired the shot in the direction of the residents, Arrisgado said.
Neither resident was hit.
The other robberies occurred in Nu‘uanu, Punchbowl and Salt Lake.
The grand jury also indicted Chanhthay Khounkeo on burglary charges related to two home invasions, but not the Holloway robbery. Khounkeo, who gave a statement to police, acted as the driver and backup man for Royce, Arrisgado said.
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