You actually listen to what HPD has to say? I know some of the officers, and dont get me wrong, most of em are nice guys. But the only reason they close cases at all here is because the island is small enough that everybody knows everybody else, and eventually news circulates enough that even the police get the message. I'm betting if they find the guy that broke into Holloway's house, they'll find he's a Hawaii Kai local, probably lived there from 3 to 6 years with his parents, is a recent Meth or Coke addict (addicted enough to have to steal the money for it instead of sponging off mom and dad), more than likely white and in his mid 20s. A true local, with local ties, would have taken that Mercedes, dropped it at a chop shop, taken what he could get for it on the quick, walked a few blocks and taken a bus to where he needed to go or called for a ride. Cars are the item of choice for the local theif, not home break-ins. And I have to admit, carjacking is pretty rare here compared to back in St Louis or any other major city. They usually steal unattended cars here. Heck, I can remember pulling guard duty downtown one night right after I got here, learning the downtown area. It was about 3am. I'm walking on a sidewalk on Nimitz highway near Honolulu Harbor and I hear this car alarm. I look over and here comes this Honda Civic all dropped down with the big wheels and tinted windows the kids like, and the alarm is just screaming. This guy is blowing stoplights and doing like 60 mph, obviously he couldnt figure out the alarm and just took it anyway, hoping to get where he was going before the cops showed up. I almost busted a gut laughing.
Thats not to say if you look at somebody wrong in the wrong neighborhood, they wont jack you up and leave you bleeding on the sidewalk. Especially the neighborhoods with the Samoans who moved back here from Cali. I have 2 of them on speed-dial for advice on gang issues, because alot of them are IN gangs. Came here to try to start over. They, along with some of the local tough guys, have alot of resentment issues to work out on us haoles. Especially tourists who wander into the wrong places at night. I remember last year some guy staying at the Pagoda downtown asked me about finding a Kava bar. Said he had heard about them on some Discover channel thing or something like that. I just looked at this man like he was nuts and told him he should find healthier tourist spots to visit. One of the most common sayings I've heard (mostly joking) among the locals is "If it's Tourist Season, how come we cant shoot them?"
