Honolulu Garage: $500,000 Bail Set for Suspect in Video-Captured Kidnapping Attempt

A $500,000 bail bond was set on Wednesday for Diesel Makanikaiaulu Kawelo, a 23-year-old man charged with kidnapping in Honolulu.

The incident began on Monday afternoon when police responded to reports of a kidnapping at the Kainalu condominiums. Surveillance footage captured a truck parked outside the complex. A man entered the garage and confronted two women. He then chased one of them, a 24-year-old visitor.

A 77-year-old resident, who requested anonymity, described the physical struggle in the garage. She stated that Kawelo shoved her away and lifted her friend into his arms. "He looked like a monster. He just had so much hatred and craziness in his eyes," she told investigators.

The resident added that both women shouted for help 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 said. Her friend attempted to fight off the suspect while the resident hoped nearby neighbors would hear the commotion.

Beverly Louis, a neighbor who witnessed the scene from her unit, said she saw Kawelo bear-hugging the woman and dragging her toward the rear of his truck. "I just started screaming, 'Drop her! Drop her! Drop her!'" Louis recalled. "She was screaming for her life. She was terrified."

Mike Finkelstein, another resident, said he yelled at the suspect to release the woman. "Let her go. I've called the police. I'm coming down there after you," Finkelstein said he shouted. Several neighbors intervened, helping the 24-year-old break free from the suspect's grip.

Witnesses reported that Kawelo fled the scene in his truck shortly after the women were freed. Police located him a few hours later after he was seen running naked through a nearby neighborhood. He was taken into custody without further incident. The 77-year-old resident said she and her friend continue to experience nightmares, and the neighborhood remains on edge.