Two Puna men charged in connection with an alleged armed robbery early Saturday morning in downtown Hilo remain in custody in Hawaii Community Correctional Center, unable to post bail.
Hilo District Judge Jeffrey Hawk on Monday ordered 43-year-old Kalani Rocky Nobriga of Pahoa and 40-year-old Anthony Romero Gonsalves of Mountain View to appear today for a preliminary hearing.
Hawk maintained Nobriga’s bail at $200,000 and Gonsalves’ bail at $100,000.
Gonsalves is charged with two counts of first-degree robbery, while Nobriga is charged with first- and second-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, two counts of third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, fourth-degree promotion of a harmful drug, and third-degree assault.
The charges against Nobriga and Gonsalves stem from an incident reported shortly after 1 a.m. Saturday, when officers responded to a disturbance on the 400 block of Kilauea Avenue involving a man with a gun who was chasing people.
A 35-year-old male victim told officers that three men inside a vehicle were yelling and threatening people in the area. The victim said he attempted to defuse the situation, but a man police later identified as Gonsalves retrieved a pistol from the vehicle and began threatening people.
Officers found the vehicle and arrested Nobriga, Gonsalves and 28-year-old Isaiah Lane Kamaka Rosa of Mountain View.
According to police, Gonsalves was in possession of Glock-type pistol, which was later determined to be a BB gun, and Rosa was in possession of about 6.3 grams of marijuana.
Additional victims came forward and reported that the three men had stolen their property.
A search warrant was executed on the vehicle, and police detectives reportedly recovered 16.6 grams methamphetamine, a stolen backpack, a stolen portable radio, a baseball bat, a digital scale and drug paraphernalia.
Nobriga and Gonsalves were charged. Police logs don’t indicate Rosa was charged. In addition, a 46-year-old man was also arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct. However, he was later determined to be a victim of robbery in this case and was released pending further investigation.
Police ask anyone who may have witnessed this incident to contact Detective David Po‘ohina at (808) 961-2385 or David.Poohina@hawaiicounty.gov. Those who prefer anonymity may call Crime Stoppers at (808) 961-8300.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
