Man who blew up bombs at UH jailed for drugs
A man who was on parole for detonating a pipe bomb in a University of Hawaii parking garage in 1993 was sentenced this morning for recent drug and attempted theft charges.Troy Hamada pleaded guilty to the charges and will serve a minimum of 1.2 years of a five-year term, said Al Nishimura, deputy public defender.
He said the state agreed to reduce the usual minimum from 1.8 years for Hamada.
Hamada was on parole from a 10-year sentence for violating the terms of his sentence for the pipe-bomb incident.
Hamada had been sentenced to five years of probation for the pipe-bomb incident but violated it in 1995 by smoking crystal methamphetamine. He was resentenced to 10 years, and later released on parole.
Nishimura said Hamada possessed less than 10 grams of crystal methamphetamine and tried to siphon gasoline from a vehicle Jan. 30. He also said Hamada was doing well in construction work but didn't have the help of a drug treatment program.
In the pipe-bomb incident, Hamada pleaded guilty to six firearms and drug charges and admitted to exploding other pipe bombs in the Manoa area. He served a year in prison.
IRS will stay up late with taxpayers April 15
If you are waiting until the last minute to do your taxes, the Internal Revenue Service will be staying up late with you on April 15.The Honolulu office at the federal building will be open until midnight on tax deadline day.
Taxpayers can pick up forms, get answers to last-minute tax questions, and file and make tax payments.
On the neighbor islands, the Hilo office will extend its hours until 8 p.m. on April 14 and 15 and the Maui office will be open until 6 p.m. on those days.
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Police/Fire
By Star-Bulletin staffBooze, speed suspected in fatal pickup crash
Speed and alcohol may be contributing factors in the crash of a pickup truck today on Halawa Valley Road which killed an Aiea man, police said.Vehicular homicide investigators said the black 1994 Chevrolet pickup coming out of the valley crossed over the center line and struck a utility pole near the Animal Quarantine Station at 3:20 a.m.
The driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
He was Oahu's 13th traffic fatality of the year.
Escapee, 17, caught driving stolen vehicle
An escapee from the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility was arrested early yesterday morning following a routine traffic stop on Kamehameha Highway.The boy, 17, was also booked for auto theft before being returned to the youth facility.
An officer made the 12:40 a.m. stop because the boy was driving without headlights.
While questioning the boy, who was driving without a license, the officer learned the car was stolen, police said.
Attack with baseball bat spurs assault charges
Second-degree assault charges are pending against a 40-year-old Kaaawa man.The man allegedly came up from behind and struck a Punaluu man, 37, with a baseball bat at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday. The victim was treated for a broken elbow.
The victim and suspect reportedly are the current and former boyfriends of the same woman, police said.
In an unrelated second-degree assault investigation, a 13-year-old Ewa boy was arrested for allegedly threatening three other juveniles with a knife Saturday and cutting one of them on the arm.
Husband's knife threat leads to assault charge
Police have charged 43-year-old Franklin Rombawa of Waianae for allegedly threatening his wife with a knife last Thursday during a domestic dispute.Rombawa is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail.
Drunken driver crashes car into Hilo cemetery
HILO -- A drunken driver crashed into a cemetery yesterday, hitting two palm trees and smashing several headstones before coming to a stop on top of the concrete slab of a grave 160 feet from the Hawaii Belt Road, police said.Alcohol and speeding were suspected factors in the accident at Alae Cemetery.
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