Newswatch

By Star-Bulletin Staff

Monday, January 26, 1998

Query into New Year's
shooting completed

The police department's Internal Affairs Division has completed its criminal investigation into a New Year's Day shooting at Mayor Wright Housing involving an off-duty police officer.

"We'll be conferring (with prosecutors) this week," Internal Affairs Lt. Greg Poole said.

Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Peter Carlisle will determine the status of the case after reviewing the investigation.

Officer Teneri Maafala was off duty and visiting family at Mayor Wright when he responded to complaints about a man armed with a gun threatening residents.

More than 20 witness statements confirmed that Maafala identified himself as a police officer and returned fire only after Benedict "Tiki" Manupule of Kuhio Valley Homes shot at him.

Police later recovered the suspect's gun, which was taken from the scene, at a Manoa residence.

Once the criminal side is resolved, there will be a separate investigation to determine whether any police Standards of Conduct rules were violated by the officer.

Forum tomorrow tackles
medical use of marijuana

The public is invited to an open forum to discuss medical use of marijuana at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at the McCully-Moiilili Library.

Lynette Shaw, director of the Marin (Calif.) Cannabis Buyers Club, will give an update on the California situation after the passage of Proposition 215, which legalized medical marijuana.

For more information, call Don Topping at 988-6287 or Pam Lichty at 735-8001.

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Police/Fire


By Star-Bulletin staff

Suspect charged in gem burglary

Police have charged a 36-year-old man for a Jan. 2 burglary in which more than $90,000 in jewelry was stolen.

Benjamin Mamuad, who has eight prior felony convictions, is being held in lieu of $75,000 bail.

Thieves broke through a dry wall from a vacant lot to get into Pacific Diamond & Swiss Watch Exchange at 1356 Kapiolani Blvd.

Guards nab purse-snatcher, 18

Two Loomis Armored Car guards chased down a purse-snatching suspect in Waikiki Saturday night and held the 18-year-old man for police.

The suspect was booked for second-degree theft, but the case could be turned over for federal prosecution under the Hobbs Act since the 42-year-old victim is a citizen of Japan.

The woman, an airline flight attendant, and friends were walking near Kuhio and Kanekapolei avenues when the suspect approached from the rear and grabbed her clutch bag at about 11:50 p.m.

The armored-car guards heard her screams and pursued the suspect.

Driver spots, recovers stolen van

A 34-year-old Pearl City man was driving in the downtown Honolulu area yesterday when he spotted a Chevrolet van stolen from him on Dec. 15. While following the van, he used a cellular telephone to report the location to police.

Police stopped the van at Pali Highway and Vineyard Boulevard at 2:42 p.m. and arrested three Nanakuli men ages 39, 40 and 54.

Man booked for fraudulent charges

Multiple felony charges are pending against a 46-year-old man for allegedly running up more than $10,000 in charges on a charge card obtained from a stolen application form.

The suspect, who resides on the 700 block of Amana Street, was arrested at 9:07 p.m. Saturday from a paper trail left of fraudulent charges.

He was booked on four counts each of second-degree forgery and theft, plus fraudulent use of a credit card.

Two suspects in car theft caught

KAILUA-KONA -- Two men suspected of stealing a car Jan. 15 were caught by police following a high-speed chase down Palani Road Friday night, police said.

Chay Smart, 20, of Kailua-Kona, the driver, was charged with 12 offenses including auto theft and drug charges. His passenger, Mark Tice, 25, of Kailua-Kona, was charged with three offenses.

Police found a stolen check book, marijuana, crystal methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia on Smart. Tice had a stolen ring.

In other news...

HALAULU, Hawaii -- A raid on a North Kohala cockfight Saturday resulted in the arrest of nine people ages 33 to 66, police said. Officers found 15 dead fighting cocks and five injured ones. All of the suspects were released pending investigation.

HILO -- Two fires, both of a suspicious nature, broke out in storage rooms at the Waiakea Villas apartments Saturday night, police said.

Waiakea Villas was also the site of a fire two months ago that destroyed one building in the multibuilding complex. That fire was caused by an electrical problem.

KAILUA-KONA -- A man who allegedly rented $36,000 worth of appliances and furniture in December and then sold it was charged with theft and burglary yesterday, police said.

The suspect, Todd Lloyd, 28, of Kealakekua, was also charged with forgery for allegedly forging stolen checks to make rental payments on the items.

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See our [Search] [Info] section for subscription information.