Media release from Hawaii County Police Department:

Big Island police are asking for the public’s help in identifying a suspect in a robbery the evening of January 5 at a business located within the Kaloko Business Center V on Kamanu Street in Kailua-Kona.

The suspect’s image was captured on a surveillance camera (right). The surveillance video also shows vehicles passing the shopping center at the time the suspect fled into the night.

Responding to an 8:06 p.m. call last Thursday (January 5), Kona patrol officers made contact with a 63-year-old Kailua-Kona woman, who reported an unknown man had entered into her business, spending several minutes looking at merchandise in the shop. The man then rushed behind the cashier’s stand and grabbed a pair of scissors from the countertop. He confronted the shop owner with the scissors, then opened the cash register and removed an unknown amount of currency. The suspect then fled from the shop and was last seen running north on Kamanu Street.

The shop owner did not sustain any injuries during the robbery.

The suspect is described as in his late 20s to early 30s, approximately 5-foot-10, 180 pounds, with a dark complexion, a full-groomed beard without a mustache, and short black hair. He was last seen wearing jeans, a white T-shirt, a black baseball cap with an unknown design on the front, and a large gold watch on his left wrist.

Police are also interested in speaking with a possible witness who had entered into the shop while the suspect was present but left prior to the robbery. The witness is described as a Caucasian male in his mid 20s.

Police ask that anyone with information about this case call Detective Myra Iwamoto at 326-4646, extension 281, or the Police Department’s non-emergency line at 935-3311. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 961-8300 in Hilo or 329-8181 in Kona. All Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.