The recent armed robbery of a salesman carrying $2 million in jewelry in the parking lot of a Waipahu restaurant is highly unusual for Hawai'i, state and federal law enforcement officials said.

Honolulu does not experience the type of violent, brazen robberies that plague comparable cities on the Mainland.

"Our close-knit community has a lot to do with it. The criminal element still realizes that because we're such a small island community, somewhere along the line somebody knows someone," said Honolulu Police Department spokesman Capt. Frank Fujii. "We have a good working relationship with the community."

The Federal Bureau of Investigation handles bank robberies involving institutions insured by the federal government and violent robberies involving high dollar value losses.

While bureau officials acknowledge an uptick in bank robberies, crimes like the Waipahu heist June 1 are unusual.

"Although Hawai'i has its share of robberies, it is very, very rare to have a robbery crime of a dollar value like that," said Robert J. Casey, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's Honolulu division, referring to the June 1 robbery.

"(Violent) crimes against persons, we see those rarely here, and rarely do we see high dollar thefts."

Four years ago there were 1,072 robberies in Honolulu, but the number has fallen three of the past four years.

A small increase was recorded in 2005, with the number of robberies in Honolulu reaching 841, up from 818 in 2004. Statistics for the number of robberies so far this year are not yet available, although bank robberies are up, officials say.

Two men have been charged in connection with the jewelry heist in the parking lot of the Golden Coin restaurant in Waipahu.

Bryan T. Higa, 25, was arrested June 1, and Marvin Quemado Jr., 31, was arrested June 5.

Because the jewels were from out of state, the U.S. Attorney's office was able to charge both in federal court under the Hobbs Act, which is used to prosecute robberies that involve interstate commerce.

The jewels Higa and Quemado are accused of stealing were worth $2 million, according to police and the jeweler who was robbed.

According to police, the jeweler had met Quemado's mother before the robbery, and Quemado overheard the vendor negotiating a sale.

Quemado then began to plan the heist with Higa and an undisclosed number of accomplices, police said.

They say that on June 1, Quemado followed the jeweler to a gas station and the restaurant, where Higa joined Quemado.

Around 12:35 p.m., as the jeweler was getting the aluminum case out of the trunk of his car, Higa pulled his Chevy Blazer up behind the jeweler, put on a camouflage mask and fired a shot into the air, according to court documents.

The briefcase was snatched and the two men allegedly sped off in a stolen car.

They split up while still in Waipahu and fled in separate vehicles, police said.

Officers with HPD's district three Crime Reduction Unit found Quemado in Waipahu and arrested him at 6:30 p.m. June 5, police said.

Officers recovered a 9mm handgun that they think is stolen. It was not the weapon used in the jewel robbery, police said.

Police do not believe Quemado's mother had anything to do with the crime, but said they are still looking for other suspects.

Some of the jewelry was recovered from the garage of Quemado's house, police said; the rest is believed to be buried somewhere on the North Shore.

On June 5, Higa was charged in federal court for his alleged role in a methamphetamine smuggling ring, according to law enforcement officials and documents filed in U.S. District Court.

He has also been charged with conspiring to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.

He is accused of working as a middleman for a narcotics distributor arrested by agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, records show.

Police described Higa as a career criminal who has been arrested more than 40 times.

Both Higa and Quemado are being held without bail at the Federal Detention Center near the airport.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.