HONOLULU (KHON2) — Nowadays, it’s a lot easier to track your smart phone. But officials are reminding folks to be careful after a victim who was trying to recover his property was assaulted.
It happened at approximately 6 p.m. on Saturday, June 19.
The victim’s wife found her phone was taken from the top of her vehicle that day. The couple was able to track the phone to the parking lot of Target Ala Moana, where they found one of the alleged suspects had it in their possession. According to sources, a confrontation ensued and when the victim asked for the phone back, three men assaulted him.
“The victim was taken to the hospital after the assault and he was discharged and he’s recovering today (June 20),” shared Jessica Lani Rich of the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii. “Obviously this was a very upsetting incident to him and to his wife. Nobody wants to get their cell phone stolen and in the process get beat up by trying to recover it.”
Police say two of the three suspects were detained by mall security and later arrested for robbery. Rich said the couple is military and relocating to Hawaii.
“It’s always unfortunate when anyone gets their cell phone stolen, and we deal strictly with visitors, and we always advise them, we understand that you want to get your cell phone back,” said Rich. “A cell phone is a very important object that we use every day; however, when it comes to tracking your phone or going after people who stole your phone, for your own safety, leave that matter to police because the consequences could be very dangerous.”
