LIHUE — The men police said robbed the Bank of Hawaii in Kapaa on New Year’s Eve pleaded not guilty Wednesday. Brandon Hartberg, 26, and Matthew Rose, 27, appeared before Fifth Circuit Court Judge Kathleen Watanabe and waived oral reading
LIHUE — The men police said robbed the Bank of Hawaii in Kapaa on New Year’s Eve pleaded not guilty Wednesday.
Brandon Hartberg, 26, and Matthew Rose, 27, appeared before Fifth Circuit Court Judge Kathleen Watanabe and waived oral reading of the charges against them. Their respective trials were set to 9 a.m. May 16.
In district court, their cases were consolidated for the purposes of evidence. For circuit court, Hartberg and Rose will appear separate with their respective attorneys.
The two are each charged with robbery in the first degree, terroristic threatening in the first degree and theft in the second degree for allegedly robbing the Kapaa branch of Bank of Hawaii on New Year’s Eve. Police said Hartberg went inside the bank holding a rifle, while Rose drove the getaway car.
Hartberg is alleged to have walked up to a teller and demanded money while holding a rifle, according to police. After the teller gave him $1,000 in marked bills, Hartberg is alleged to have run out the front door and away from the bank to where Rose was waiting nearby, according to police testimony.
An Air 1 helicopter then noticed a suspicious green sedan by the Kauai County Cemetery on Kanaele Road and followed it, according to police reports. Hartberg and Rose were then arrested, taken to jail and interrogated by police.
After speaking to both men at KPD cellblock, police received a confession from Hartberg, which implicated Rose, according to police reports.
