Honolulu Arrest: Man Charged in Midday Attempted Kidnapping
Police arrested Diesel Makanikaiaulu Kawelo Wednesday after neighbors intervened during an incident at Kainalu condominiums Monday.
By Fatou Mitchell ·
Honolulu police arrested a 23-year-old man on Wednesday after he was charged with kidnapping in connection with an attempted abduction that occurred on Monday. The suspect, identified as Diesel Makanikaiaulu Kawelo, was booked after officers located him running naked in a nearby neighborhood a few hours after the incident.
Authorities received a report of a kidnapping at the Kainalu condominiums on Monday afternoon. Surveillance footage from the complex showed a truck parked outside the building. The video captured a man entering the garage area where he confronted two women. He was seen chasing one of them while the other attempted to intervene.
A 77-year-old resident of the condominium complex, who asked not to be identified, stated that the suspect picked up her 24-year-old friend. She described the physical nature of the attack, noting that the man elbowed her in the face. “He shoved me away from my friend and he picked her up,” she said. “He looked like a monster. He just had so much hatred and craziness in his eyes.”
The resident explained that she and her friend were both screaming for assistance during the struggle. “I was yelling, ‘Help! Help!’ and she was yelling, too. She was saying, ‘You don’t want to do this. Don’t do this,’” she recalled. Her friend tried to fend off the suspect while she hoped the noise would alert other residents.
Beverly Louis, a neighbor and witness, observed the suspect bear-hugging the 24-year-old woman and dragging her toward the rear of his truck. Louis began shouting at the man to release the victim. “I just started screaming, ‘Drop her! Drop her! Drop her!’” Louis said. “She was screaming for her life. She was terrified.”
Mike Finkelstein, another witness, also intervened by yelling at the suspect to let the woman go. “Let her go. I’ve called the police. I’m coming down there after you,” Finkelstein said he shouted. Several neighbors joined the effort to help the 24-year-old break free from the suspect's grip.
After the group assisted the woman in escaping, witnesses reported that the suspect entered his truck and sped away. Police set Kawelo's bail at $500,000 upon his arrest. The 77-year-old resident said she and her friend continued to experience nightmares following the event.
