HANALEI — An 82-year-old Hanalei-area man said Friday he was robbed at gunpoint and tied up in his home late Wednesday night, and that his stolen car was found the following afternoon with a dead man inside. The county issued
HANALEI — An 82-year-old Hanalei-area man said Friday he was robbed at gunpoint and tied up in his home late Wednesday night, and that his stolen car was found the following afternoon with a dead man inside.
The county issued a press release Friday evening stating the Kaua‘i Police Department believes the dead man found in a stolen car in Princeville is the suspect who robbed Robert Jones. But the KPD did not release information about how the suspect died.
“This case is currently under investigation, and as such we are unable to release additional details at this time,” KPD Chief Darryl Perry said in the news release. “However, at this point, there is no reason to believe, nor is there any evidence to support, the possibility of a homicide.”
Jones told The Garden Island by telephone he suffered only abrasions after freeing himself.
Jones had been to Wilcox Memorial Hospital in Lihu‘e twice on Wednesday for medical treatment. Back home, a “big guy” walked into his house at about 11 p.m. and asked for a blanket and $10.
Jones said the man was cold, so he gave him what he asked for.
“He showed me his gun. He told me he was going take my car, so he took me into my bedroom and he tied me up,” Jones said. The man also taped Jones’ mouth shut, but Jones said the tape did not stick.
“I could have (called out to someone), but I don’t know if anyone would have heard me,” said Jones, explaining his closest neighbors live too far away.
After the assailant left, Jones spent an hour struggling before he was able to break free from the hospital bed he keeps in his bedroom, he said.
Jones said the man took his 1989 Suzuki Samurai and a flashlight. On Thursday he was told his car was found near the Church of the Pacific in Princeville. He was told there was a dead man inside his car.
Jones said his car was impounded by the police. “I don’t have it back, but it’s going to be returned,” he said.
Jones said all he suffered physically were abrasions to his wrists. He said he had a previously scheduled appointment at Wilcox Memorial Hospital Thursday morning, so he waited until then to receive medical attention.
The dead man’s identity was being withheld pending a positive identification and notification of next of kin, a county spokeswoman said in the release.
An autopsy has been scheduled. Further details will be released as they become available, the news release stated.
• Léo Azambuja, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or lazambuja@ thegardenisland.com.
