Hanalei Man Sentenced to 10 years in Prison for Robbery in the Second Degree
LĪHU‘E – Prosecuting Attorney Rebecca Like announced that Robert I Monroy, age 38 of Hanalei, was sentenced on January 9, 2025, to serve ten years in prison for robbing the First Hawaiian Bank in Lihue. He pled guilty as charged to Robbery in the Second Degree. He also pled guilty as charged in a separate case to Assault Against a Law Enforcement Officer in the Second Degree.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Matthew Arakawa represented the State of Hawaii and Shauna Lee Cahill-De Costa represented Monroy. The Honorable Randal G.B. Valenciano presided over the case.
An investigation led by the Kauai Police Department revealed that on November 23, 2023, Monroy entered the First Hawaiian Bank on Rice Street in Lihue and approached a bank teller. He gave the bank teller a note saying it was a robbery; he had grenades and no one would get hurt if the teller handed over the money. The bank teller gave Monroy money. Monroy put the money in his bag and left. Officers saw Monroy walking down the street from the bank and placed him under arrest. A search of his bag revealed a large amount of cash, including the bills from First Hawaiian Bank.
Prosecuting Attorney Like stated, “We commend the quick and coordinated response of the Kauai Police Department in apprehending this dangerous criminal immediately after this robbery was committed. Monroy was detained within minutes of the offense taking place.
We are fortunate that violent offenses like these are rare on Kauai, but we express our gratitude to our first responders who never know when a call like this may come. Mahalo KPD.”
The Office of the Prosecuting Attorney would like to bring the public’s attention to VINE, a free tool that can be used to verify the custody status of an offender. It allows anyone to access timely and reliable information about offenders or criminal cases in U.S. jails and prisons and is accessible at www.vinelink.com
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