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Kauai man cleared of assault on teen girl

A 21-year-old Kauai man was found not guilty yesterday after a two-day jury trial in Kauai Circuit Court.

Bryson J. Silva, a former security guard at the Radisson Kauai Beach Resort, was accused of assaulting a 16-year-old Colorado girl last summer while she was on vacation.

According to prosecutors, Silva took the girl to the beach fronting the resort and had sex with her. He testified that the sex was consensual.

Silva's attorney, deputy public defender James Itamura, said the verdict was likely caused by a number of inaccuracies in the girl's multiple statements to police.

Itamura said Silva is trying to move past the incident and perhaps join the military.

"He's a good kid," Itamura said.

No oil seen leaking from grounded ship

For the second day in a row yesterday, Coast Guard planes reported no oil sheen coming from the grounded ship Casitas at Pearl and Hermes Atoll.

Winds of 14 knots and 5- to 6-foot seas were reported at the grounded ship as a Coast Guard environmental response team assessed the situation, Coast Guard spokeswoman Petty Officer Jennifer Johnson said.

The Coast Guard will not release any details regarding how the 145-foot ship became grounded at 2 a.m. Saturday in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands until its accident investigation is complete, Johnson said yesterday.

Coast Guard investigators took statements about the accident from all 23 people aboard the Casitas, all of whom returned to Oahu yesterday morning on a Coast Guard plane. The Casitas is a privately owned ship contracted for a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration marine debris removal project, Johnson said.

NOAA Fisheries spokeswoman Wende Goo would not identify the 16 agency staff on the boat, but did confirm that all are certified divers. Their job titles are either marine ecosystem research specialist or marine debris technician, she said.

Goo said all the NOAA staff had the day off yesterday and would not be available for comment. "We're going to give them some space," she said.

The NOAA ship Oscar Alton Sette will be the base for Coast Guard accident specialists today until the Coast Guard cutter Walnut arrives tomorrow and begins attempting to offload fuel from the Casitas, Johnson said.

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[ TAKING NOTICE ]

» Hawaii Fi-Do, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising and training assistance dogs for people with disabilities other than blindness, has announced its 2005 Board of Directors: Louise Funai, senior consultant of Myerberg Shain & Associates, president; Claudia Marr, registered nurse and owner of Bow Wow Bungalows kennels, vice president; Susan Luehrs, transition resource teacher at Kahuku School complex, certified service dog trainer, secretary and executive director; and Anne Hatter, retired educator, treasurer. Officers include Philip Ana, Stephanie Dryden, Jeanne Gibbs, Chrissy Ishida, Virginia Abshier and Debby McGraw.

» The Siemens Foundation has recognized Kaiser High School as one of 12 schools in the nation to win its 2004-2005 Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement. The $1,000 award honors schools that show a notable increase in the number of students taking the College Board's Advanced Placement Program science and math exams.

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Police, Fire, Courts



By Star-Bulletin staff

Fireworks-related brush fires continue

Firefighters battled 14 brush fires yesterday, half of which were likely fireworks-related.

Fire officials believe three brush fires in the same area in Kalaeloa might have been intentionally set.

Firefighters responded to the first call at 3:30 p.m. on Geiger and Renton roads, and the other two at about 6:30 p.m. at White Plains Beach. The fires were quickly brought under control by 6:40 p.m.

Another fire burned approximately 12 to 15 acres of brush in Waialua near Thomson Corner.

It began shortly before 2 p.m. and was contained at about 4:30 p.m.

The Honolulu Fire Department dispatched six engines, four tankers and Air One. The Federal Fire Department's two tankers also participated.

EAST OAHU

Swimmer who died off Portlock identified

The Medical Examiner's Office identified the 29-year-old man who drowned Tuesday while swimming near Portlock in Hawaii Kai as Stephen E. LeBlanc of Westwego, La.

LeBlanc was swimming in an area off Poipu Place called Spitting Caves.

The Fire Department rescued LeBlanc's friend, a local resident in his mid-20s who jumped in to try to save him, and brought up the victim's body.

LEEWARD OAHU

Teen is arrested in assault on officer

Police arrested a 17-year-old boy who allegedly punched two officers in the face Tuesday at a Waipahu drive-in restaurant.

The first officer, a sergeant in the motorcycle detail, was responding to a report of an assault in progress at the restaurant. When the sergeant asked the assault suspect to step outside the restaurant, the suspect punched him in the face and then went outside, police said.

The suspect then punched another officer, cutting his lip, police said. The suspect was arrested by other officers for investigation of assaulting a law enforcement officer. He was later released pending an investigation.

HONOLULU

Suspicious U-turn leads to 2 arrests

A suspicious U-turn in front of a police officer led to the arrest of the female driver and a man in Kalihi on Tuesday.

Police said the woman, 40, made the U-turn after she saw the officer as she was driving on Perry Street about 1:10 a.m. The officer noticed that the car did not have a front-end license plate. When he called in the license number on the rear-end plate, he was told the car had been reported stolen.

A male passenger tried to run away after the car was stopped on Kalihi Street, police said. Officers caught him and recovered a drug pipe he tried to throw away as he ran, police said. Another drug pipe was recovered from the car, police said.

Police said they also found three credit cards belonging to different people in the driver's wallet.

Police arrested the woman for investigation of auto theft and credit card theft. The man, 35, was arrested for investigation of drug offenses.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Man seriously hurt in fall off sea cliff

A man who was apparently going skin diving at a coastal site north of Hilo was rescued by Hawaii County Fire Department personnel yesterday after he fell as much as 50 feet down a sea cliff, the Fire Department said.

The name of the victim and details about his injuries were not released. The department said he was in serious condition when he was taken to Hilo Medical Center following the accident.

The department received a call about 5 a.m. from a person with the victim at a site called 23 Flats near Honomu, 10 miles north of Hilo. Responding units included a rescue unit and a department helicopter.

Personnel walked along the rocky shoreline to reach the victim, who was treated and airlifted on a "spineboard" to a place at the top of the cliff where he was transferred to an ambulance, the department said.

Driver charged after hitting utility pole

Police arrested a 39-year-old Kona man for allegedly driving drunk Monday night after he crashed his pickup truck into a utility pole, knocking it over.

The crash happened about 9:15 p.m. on Kaloko Street near Hao Street. Kaloko Street was closed until 6 a.m. Tuesday as electric company crews repaired the pole.

Police said the pickup truck driver was not injured. He was arrested for investigation of driving under the influence of alcohol and released pending an investigation.

No injuries in fire near Molokai Airport

WAILUKU » Fire officials were investigating the cause of a brush fire that burned from 50 to 60 acres south of the Molokai Airport.

No one was injured in the fire that began about 4:30 p.m. yesterday and was contained by 5:50 p.m., a fire official said.