A 19-year-old Kailua man was arrested yesterday in connection with the armed robbery of a cab driver on Tantalus.

The 67-year-old driver, working for The Cab, was not injured.

Police said the armed robbery occurred about 11 a.m., after the cab picked up the suspect in town.

When the taxi arrived at the lookout, the suspect demanded money. Police said there was a struggle and the suspect fled on foot, spurring an hour long manhunt. At one point, police were searching wooded areas and brush for the suspect.

Police also searched cars leaving the area on Tantalus and Round Top drives and restricted entry to residents.

The 19-year-old was arrested about noon.

Police also recovered a gun believed to have been used in the robbery.

The driver who picked up the suspect has been with The Cab for several years, said operations manager Wayne Greenleaf.

"We do know he is OK," said Greenleaf, who declined to release more details because the company was still piecing together the facts in the case and providing them to police.

For the company, yesterday's armed robbery was a reminder of the killings of three people on Tantalus in 2006, including a driver for The Cab. Adam Mau-Goffredo was found to be mentally unfit for trial in the killings of taxi driver Manh The Nguyen, and Kapahulu couple Jason and Colleen Takamori.

Makiki/Lower Punchbowl/ Tantalus Neighborhood Board chairman John Steelquist said yesterday's robbery is disturbing, but he stressed that Tantalus remains a safe community.

"One incident doesn't make a crime wave," Steelquist said. "If it was very frequently, then there would be some concern."

He said that though the crime will likely get Tantalus residents talking, there is another problem that attracts much of their concern — speeding.

"I think Tantalus is the safest place in Honolulu," Steelquist said.