Police charge man, 51, in homeless man's death
Police yesterday charged a 51-year-old man with the beating death of a homeless man.Gregory Norem, who has no permanent local address, was charged at 5:45 p.m. and is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail.
Norem is accused of killing a 39-year-old man, whose body was found Monday on Ualena Street near Honolulu Airport.
An autopsy determined the man died of "internal abdominal injuries."
The medical examiner's office is not releasing the name of the victim until his next of kin has been notified.
Detective, union settle confidentiality dispute
A Honolulu detective says he's still a member of the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers following a "clear-the-air" meeting yesterday with his union's leadership."I had my vest on," Detective Alexander Garcia said. "It was a frank and open discussion and they made a decision.
"I'm still a member in good standing and the issue has been resolved."
Garcia was asked to appear before union leadership to answer why he should not be disciplined or expelled from SHOPO for obtaining and disclosing confidential union information.
Garcia alleges that SHOPO President Bennie Atkinson misused union funds.
"They are aware of things now they may not have been aware of before," Garcia said.
Donna Kekauoha, the union's senior general counsel and acting business manager, declined comment on the meeting, saying "it's an internal problem that is being handled internally."
Maui Electric probes huge power outage
WAILUKU -- Maui Electric officials are conducting an investigation to find the cause of a major power outage on the Valley Isle earlier this week.Arthur Takabayashi, manager of the company's transmission and distribution, said consultants will be arriving Sunday to analyze the arcing problem at the Maalaea power plant.
Electricity arced several times from overhead lines to the base of power poles near the Maalaea power plant, causing a short circuit at about 10 p.m. Monday, he said.
The overload caused generators at Maalaea to shut down, and also forced the plant at Kahului to do the same.
Takabayashi said Electric Power Research Institute, the company that will research the problem, conducted similar tests on Oahu in 1996.
Autopsy: No injuries seen in inmate's death
An autopsy of a 37-year-old Halawa inmate showed no signs of physical injury, Public Safety Director Ted Sakai said.The medical examiner's office is waiting for toxicology and other test results before determining a cause of death for inmate Keane Toguchi, who stopped breathing in the mental health unit of the prison Dec. 23.
Sakai last week said Toguchi was admitted to the unit last Saturday morning because he was disoriented and irrational.
He was restrained after his behavior deteriorated.
Toguchi had stopped breathing when workers checked on him at 3 p.m.
He was taken to Pali Momi Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Door-to-door salesman may be thief, police say
HILO -- Police are warning the public to beware of a man selling cleaning products door to door who may be responsible for a series of burglaries and thefts.The man, in his late 20s or early 30s, carries unmarked bottles of the product in a briefcase and uses the sales pitch to gain entry to people's homes, they said.
They advise people to obtain identification from any salesperson.
Rexford Davis is an assistant registrar with the state Bureau of Conveyances. He was misidentified in a story yesterday. CORRECTION
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Police, Fire
By Star-Bulletin staffMan robs woman at gunpoint in Kaimuki
Police are searching for an armed man who robbed a woman of her purse yesterday in Kaimuki.The woman parked her car at Sekiya's Restaurant & Delicatessen on Kaimuki Avenue when she was robbed at gunpoint at 9:15 a.m., police said.
When the woman chased after the man, she was kicked in the face, police said.
No arrests were reported this morning.
North Shore pair booked in 'road rage' beating
Police yesterday arrested two men for allegedly assaulting a man in a case of "road rage" on the North Shore.The suspects, 21 and 23, were reportedly speeding near the Pupukea Foodland supermarket at about 8 p.m. when a man yelled at them, police said.
The suspects then turned the car around and allegedly beat the 41-year-old man, police said.
They were booked for second-degree assault.
Phone pole fire causes Aliamanu power failure
A telephone pole fire forced Hawaiian Electric Co. to shut off power last night to about 1,642 customers in the Aliamanu area.Power was shut off at 8:30 p.m. and restored at 9:20 p.m.
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