Two men arrested and charged following downtown Hilo robbery

Hawai‘i Island police have arrested and charged two men, 43-year-old Kalani Rocky Nobriga of Pahoa and 40-year-old Anthony Romero Gonsalves of Mountain View, in connection with a violent robbery that occurred early Saturday Feb. 8 in downtown Hilo.

The charges against Nobriga and Gonsalves stem from an incident reported shortly after 1 a.m. when South Hilo patrol officers responded to a disturbance on the 400 block of Kilauea Avenue involving a man with a gun chasing people.

Responding officers contacted a 35-year-old male victim, who reported that a vehicle in the area with three males inside, began yelling and threatening people in the area. The man stated he attempted to deescalate the situation, when one man, later identified as Gonsalves, retrieved a pistol from the vehicle and began threatening people.

Officers located the vehicle, and subsequently arrested Nobriga, Gonsalves, and 28-year-old Isaiah Lane Kamaka Rosa, of Mountain View. Upon arrest, Gonsalves was in possession of a Glock-type pistol and Rosa was found to have approximately 6.3 grams of marijuana on his person. The pistol, which appeared to be a real gun, was later determined to be a BB gun. 

As officers continued to investigate, additional victims reported that the three men had stolen their property. Officers were able to observe some of the items in plain view, within the vehicle.

The vehicle was recovered pending issuance and execution of a search warrant.

Officers also learned that a 56-year-old man was struck with a baseball bat by Nobriga. The man was not seriously injured and was treated at the scene.

Upon execution of the search warrant on the vehicle, detectives with the Area I Criminal Investigation Section recovered the following items:

• Stolen backpack
• Stolen portable radio
• Baseball bat
• 16.6 grams methamphetamine
• Digital scale
• Drug paraphernalia

On Sunday morning, Feb. 9, upon conferral with the County of Hawai‘i Prosecutors Office, the men were charged.

Nobriga was charged with the following offenses and his bail was set at $198,000:

• First-degree promotion of a dangerous drug
• Second-degree promotion of a dangerous drug
• Two counts of third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug
• Fourth-degree promotion of a harmful drug
• Third-degree assault

Gonsalves was charged with the following offenses and his bail was set at $100,000:

• Two counts first-degree robbery

In addition to the arrest of Nobriga, Gonsalves, and Rosa, a 46-year-old man was also arrested for 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 call Detective David Po‘ohina of the Area I Criminal Investigation Section at (808) 961-2385, or via email at David.Poohina@hawaiicounty.gov.

Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call the Crime Stoppers number at (808) 961-8300 and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000. Crime Stoppers is a volunteer program run by ordinary citizens who want to keep their community safe. Crime Stoppers doesn’t record calls or subscribe to caller ID. All Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.