Newswatch
Police, Fire, Courts

By Star-Bulletin Staff

Hawaii-based reserves allege discrimination

Federal authorities are investigating complaints that Hawaii-based National Guard troops or military reservists are being discriminated against by their employers over deployments.

U.S. Attorney Edward Kubo Jr. would not say yesterday how many complaints have been lodged in Hawaii, but emphasized that reservists are protected under the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act.

"Under this law, a National Guard or reservist must not be denied initial employment, re-employment upon return from service, promotion or any benefit of employment on the basis of his or her membership or obligation in the uniformed service," Kubo said.

There are approximately 12,000 National Guard troops and reservists living in the state, and about 200 are currently deployed.

Coast Guard rescue goes to Christmas Isle

The Coast Guard sent a C-130 airplane to Christmas Island yesterday to rescue an injured crewman from the cruise ship Norwegian Star.

The crewman, 24-year-old Percival Meruena, had fallen overboard from a tender vessel and lacerated his legs on the propeller as the ship entered the harbor at Fanning Island, the Coast Guard said.

Meruena, of the Philippines, suffered cuts on both legs below the knee, said Chief Petty Officer Tyler Johnson.

"The doctor on the ship deemed it to be a serious enough injury that they had to divert to Christmas Island, because Christmas is where they have an airstrip," said Steve Hirano, Norwegian Cruise Line's spokesman in Honolulu.

The plane and its seven-member crew returned to Oahu around 7 p.m., and Meruena was transported to the Queen's Medical Center in stable condition.

Maui County names film commissioner

Benita Brazier, a New Orleans native and former feature films supervisor, has been appointed Maui County film commissioner.

Brazier's experience includes the music, film and television industry, according to an announcement by Maui County Mayor Alan Arakawa this week.

She also worked as a product manager overseeing the careers of George Benson, Van Morrison and Bonnie Raitt and other Warner Bros. recording artists.

Volunteers sought for Youth Service Day

Special Olympics Hawaii is looking for volunteers to help with the state's first-time participation in National Youth Service Day, April 11 to 13. Track and field competitions will be held throughout the state.

Youth Service America selected Special Olympics Hawaii as one of 50 national lead agencies to coordinate the event. YSA's goal is to increase public awareness about the contributions of young volunteers in more than 150 countries, including the United States.

Special Olympics expects to serve about 400 to 500 special needs children.

About 300 youth volunteers are needed to recruit new athletes, work with them in preparation for competition, and assist them during the games and exhibitions.

To volunteer, call Diana Hart, at 943-8808 at extension 28.

This event is separate from Special Olympics' regularly scheduled summer games, which will take place in May and June this year at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, according to Stacey Bow, outreach coordinator.

UH school of law gets new dean

The University of Hawaii Board of Regents today approved the appointment of Aviam Soifer, a professor and former dean of the Boston College Law School, to be new dean of the William S. Richardson School of Law.

UH president Evan Dobelle said he was pleased with the appointment of Soifer, noting "the extraordinary talent" Soifer will bring when he joins the faculty July 1. Soifer will receive an annual salary of $254,000.

Soifer joins the university as current dean Lawrence C. Foster returns to teaching after 15 years in administration at the school.

At Boston College, Soifer served as dean from 1992-1998 before resuming his teaching and research career there. He previously was a professor at Boston University School of Law and the University of Connecticut Law School.

Soifer has taught and written primarily about constitutional law and legal history. He is a 1972 graduate of Yale Law School. He served as editor of the Yale Law Journal and helped create a clinical program in which law students represented mentally ill residents of Connecticut's largest state hospital.

UH Manoa Chancellor Peter Englert said, "We are very pleased that someone with professor Soifer's highly-regarded academic and administrative background will be joining us."

Health-care proposal alive in the House

A proposal to create a new state agency to fund and administer universal health care in Hawaii was revived yesterday by a House committee.

Health Chairman Dennis Arakaki, D-Alewa Heights-Kalihi, said he wanted to give it another shot, noting that the proposal had passed out of his committee but died because the Labor Committee ran out of time to consider it before the deadline for each chamber to finish work on bills.

The House proposal would create a state health authority to collect payments from all sources -- private employers, Medicaid, public employee plans, the state's QUEST plan and the medical parts of homeowners, automobile and workers compensation plans -- into a single $5 billion pool to buy medical coverage for everyone. --Associated Press

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Corrections and clarifications The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Managing Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at fbridgewater@starbulletin.com.

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Police, Fire, Courts



By Star-Bulletin staff

Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers

[ POLICE / FIRE ]

HONOLULU

Man arrested after stolen gun is found

Police investigating a 911 call yesterday arrested a man after a stolen handgun fell from his waistband. Officers went to a Makalapua Place address in Kalihi after someone called 911 about 12:14 a.m. and hung up.

When they arrived two minutes later, police said the officers spotted the suspect outside with a bulge under his shirt.

Police said he told the officers nothing was wrong, walked away and entered a parked vehicle.

When the officers ordered him to raise his hands, they said they saw the gun drop from his waist into the vehicle. The gun turned out to be a stolen .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun.

Police also arrested the man for investigation of drugs and drug paraphernalia after they found a glass pipe with drug residue in it on the front passenger seat of the vehicle.

Kidnapped driver says abductors in their 30s

Police are looking for two men in their 30s who kidnapped a 43-year-old man and forced him to drive them around the island Monday night to Tuesday morning.

The victim told police he was servicing his car near Kaiulani School at 783 N. King St. about 6:45 p.m. when two men hit him on the head and then threatened him with a broken bottle. They forced him to drive around the island but he escaped when they left him alone in the car, police said.

LEEWARD OAHU

Suspect turns himself in to Kapolei police

A 23-year-old man wanted on a grand jury warrant in connection with a January robbery in Ewa Beach turned himself in at the Kapolei police station yesterday afternoon.

Rory Cabrera is also a suspect in the Sept. 30 theft of a $22,000 Rolex watch from the Ben Bridge Timeworks store in Ala Moana Center, as well as another robbery in December, police said.

Police arrest 3 men in alleged kidnapping

Three men were arrested last night for allegedly kidnapping an acquaintance at gunpoint in Pearl City.

Police said the 26-year-old victim reported that he went for a ride with an acquaintance but was held against his will.

He reported that a second man joined them and he was held at gunpoint.

The victim struggled and broke free, and ran to the nearby Pearl City police station for help.

Police said they asked the victim to call the two kidnappers and arrange for a meeting.

The three suspects were arrested at the designated meeting place by plainclothes officers after a brief chase, police said.

WINDWARD OAHU

Kapahulu man ID'd as motorcycle fatality

The Honolulu Medical Examiner has identified Walter Miller, 57, of Kapahulu, as the motorcyclist who died Sunday in a head-on collision.

Police said a car crossed the center line to overtake a vehicle and collided with Miller on Kalanianaole Highway near Kaiona Beach Park. Miller died at the scene.

The car driver, a 24-year-old man, was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving and negligent homicide.

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[ THE COURTS ]

Accused cop killer to be held without bail

Circuit Judge Karen Ahn granted the state's request yesterday to have accused cop killer Shane Mark held without bail.

Mark, 28, was indicted last week on first-degree murder and attempted murder in the fatal shooting of plainclothes officer Glen Gaspar during a struggle at the Kapolei Shopping Center on March 4 and for allegedly pointing a gun at another officer.

Police had been looking for Mark, who was wanted on several outstanding warrants, including one for a Feb. 1 incident in which he allegedly shot at two men, striking one, in a dispute over an inoperable surveillance camera that he had purchased for $150 worth of methamphetamine.

In court documents, Deputy Prosecutor Chris Van Marter argued that Mark's previous convictions, the nature of the current charges and the potential penalty he faces make him a flight risk and a danger to the community.

Mark did not oppose the motion. He has pleaded not guilty and is set for trial May 12.

Maui man fined $50 for attack by pit bull

WAILUKU >> A Maui man whose mixed-breed pit bull injured a 5-year-old boy was fined $50 yesterday in Maui District Court.

Roberto Gaioran pleaded no contest to a charge he violated a law concerning loose dogs that attack people.

Gaioran's wife told the court that the animal had been harassed by neighborhood children who threw rocks at him. The dog, kept in a fenced area of the Gaiorans' townhouse at Kihei Villages, leaped over a fence and attacked Trevor Sifton.

Sifton, 5, a kindergartner at Kamalii Elementary School, suffered a bite on his left arm and right calf, a slight puncture wound on his right neck and a scratch on the right side of his face on Jan. 27.

The dog was destroyed by the Maui Humane Society on Jan. 29.

Feds to prosecute McCully gun case

A 32-year-old man convicted of more than a half-dozen misdemeanor offenses is being prosecuted in federal court for drug and gun charges and faces up to 40 years in prison.

Although Michael Anglin has only a handful of misdemeanor convictions, U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo said yesterday that his case is worthy of federal prosecution under the Project Safe Neighborhoods Hawaii Program, whose aim is to reduce gun violence across the United States.

About 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, Anglin allegedly sped into the McCully Zippy's parking lot and challenged a group of youths.

According to a complaint, Anglin brandished a semiautomatic handgun and loaded one round, causing the group to scatter.

Following Anglin's arrest, police found on him a small amount of cocaine, dealer quantities of crystal methamphetamine with a street value of more than $32,000, about $2,300 in cash, a scale and plastic bags, the complaint said.

Drug trafficking and gun crimes are the two most dangerous threats to Hawaii's citizens, Kubo said.

The concern is greater, however, when those committing these crimes are habitual offenders.

"Clearly, with the increase of these crimes, not even police officers are safe in Hawaii today," Kubo said.