By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Umbrellas sprouted all over town yesterday as a daylong rain soaked Oahu. These people prepare to step out into the weather as they leave the Honolulu Academy of Arts.Niu catches inch of rain, Kauai more
The prolonged thunder gave it a showbiz touch, but otherwise yesterday's storm was more roll than show.One inch of rain was recorded in Niu Valley yesterday, but other Oahu locations registered less than a half-inch between 5 a.m. and 5 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. On Kauai, more than an inch fell in Kalaheo, Omao and Hanapepe.
Lead forecaster Tim Craig said the return of northerly winds by tomorrow should put an end to vog conditions that have prevailed since the weekend because of kona winds.
The thunder was generated by a low-pressure system that developed west of Kauai and was expected to move east past the islands by today, Craig said. A flash flood watch posted for Oahu, Maui and Molokai was canceled early this morning. The Oahu Civil Defense Agency and the Honolulu police said the storm caused no major problems.
The weather front brought surf of 6 to 10 feet to northern shores of all islands.
City ocean safety division Capt. Edmund Pestana said off-shore winds yesterday forced postponement of the OP Pro surfing competition at Haleiwa.
Police officers recall encounter with attempted murder suspect
Police Officer Danny Thornton raised his gun as a man armed with two knives, who had threatened other officers, rushed toward him on a grassy highway median strip in Waipahu."He was 5 to 7 feet away when I fired the first shot," Thornton said. "As I was backing up, my heel hit the curb."
Thornton fired three more shots as he was falling backward, wounding 20-year-old Robert Sua in the forearm, hip and groin.
"He fell on me," Thornton said. "His head was at my crotch and he was still trying to flail at me with the knives."
Thornton testified yesterday at a preliminary hearing for Sua, who is charged with attempted murder and five counts of terroristic threatening stemming from the Feb. 6 incident between Pupupuhi and Pupukahi streets.
Five other officers -- Theodore Molale, Eli Walters, Rex Gabar, Dana Paikai and Brian Branco -- testified that Sua chased and threatened them on the street before taking a hostage, who was eventually released unharmed.
Kauai judge clears way for drug case to proceed
LIHUE -- Kauai prosecutors will get a third chance to bring a drug case, believed to be the island's largest ever, to trial.Circuit Judge George Masuoka has dismissed the case without prejudice against Paul Say, who was arrested with his brother Byron in December 1990 for possession of 2.2 pounds of cocaine, drug paraphernalia and an illegal handgun.
The case had languished in the prosecutor's office for years, and the file was missing when Michael Soong took over the office last December.
Masuoka's decision allows prosecutors to indict Paul Say, 34, for the third time. Soong said he doesn't want the case to "drag on any longer" and may prosecute by other means before the next grand jury proceedings near the end of December.
Former prosecutor Ryan Jimenez never brought the case to trial.
Say's attorney, Arthur Trask Jr., argued for the dismissal because Hawaii law states a case must be brought to trial within six months of an arrest or indictment.
Masuoka wrote in his decision that the defense "took no action in sharing responsibility" for a speedy trial. The defendant is not prejudiced because the evidence and witnesses against him are still available, he said.
He also noted that Say's attorney did not raise the constitutional issue of a defendant's right to a speedy trial.
Bail not lowered for man accused of killing baby
WAILUKU -- Acting Maui Circuit Judge Douglas Ige yesterday ruled that bail should remain at $300,000 for a Maui man accused of shaking a baby to death.Prosecutors argued that Peter Pasigan Jr. could flee the jurisdiction if his bail is lowered. He remained in jail.
Pasigan faces three counts of third-degree assault and a criminal contempt-of-court charge on Oahu, in addition to a second-
degree murder charge in the death of 15-month-old Shyla-Ann Silva on Maui.
His trial is scheduled for Jan. 26.
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Police/Fire
By Star-Bulletin staffMan takes stroller, baby, and is charged
HILO -- Hawaii County police arrested a Kona man yesterday after he reportedly took a stroller with a 6-month-old baby in it from the boy's mother while she walked in Hilo.Police charged Donald R. Margain, 37, of Kailua-Kona, with kidnapping and held him in lieu of $2,000 bail.
The 22-year-old Hilo woman told police she does not know the suspect. She said he approached her about 2 p.m. as she strolled along Ponahawai Street, took the stroller with child and began walking away.
Police said the man threatened the mother but she managed to get the baby away from him unharmed.
Coast Guard airlifts stricken fisherman
A Coast Guard helicopter crew airlifted a fisherman from a boat 170 miles southwest of Kauai to Oahu yesterday making a vital refueling stop on a Navy guided-missile destroyer at sea.The 51-year-old crewman from the Katherine Y fishing vessel, apparently suffering from appendicitis, was taken to Queen's Hospital.
The USS Paul Hamilton was an essential link in the medical evacuation effort because the H-65 helicopter has a range of 150 miles offshore, according to a Coast Guard release.
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