Two Kailua-Kona men were charged this week in connection with a kidnapping and robbery that occurred last month in Kona.
A 22-year-old man reported on Dec. 23 that he was approached that afternoon by an acquaintance and another man on Royal Poinciana Drive near its intersection with Alii Drive.
The man said the pair asked him for drugs and cash. When they got neither, they assaulted the man and forced him into a sports-utility vehicle.
While in the vehicle, the two allegedly robbed the victim and held him at knifepoint while they drove around Kailua-Kona for more than an hour, still demanding money.
Police said the victim persuaded his assailants to drive him to the home of a family member so he could obtain some cash. Once there, he went inside, and a family member then confronted the suspects and told them police had been called, at which point they drove away.
On Jan. 1, police located the SUV, which had been damaged and abandoned on Hina Lani Street in Kailua-Kona.
An investigation led police to arrest Jack Toribio Casuga on Monday, and William Holbron-Kealoha on Thursday.
Casuga, 31, was subsequently charged with kidnapping, first-degree robbery, first-degree terroristic threatening and theft.
He was also charged with violating parole in one unrelated incident and with burglary and attempted robbery in connection with another incident that occurred Dec. 19 at a home on Alii Drive.
Casuga’s bail was set at $146,000.
Holbron-Kealoha was charged with kidnapping, robbery, terroristic threatening and an unrelated count of failure to appear.
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