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Newswatch
Star-Bulletin staff and wire service
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Neglect of patient leads to prison
LIHUE » A Kalaheo man received five years in jail for running an illegal care home and neglecting a patient, health officials said this week.
Jason Craig, 41, of Kalaheo was convicted of second-degree assault and running the unlicensed care home after a two-day bench trial in April, and was sentenced last week, officials said. He will serve at least 20 months, as Judge Randal Valenciano decided the crime warranted a mandatory minimum sentence.
Craig has filed a notice of appeal.
Craig was convicted of taking in 82-year-old Ryoji Hironaka in December 2004, charging his family $4,000 a month for care and then neglecting him, officials said.
In March 2005, at a routine physical exam, Hironaka was found by his doctor to be weak and suffering from bedsores.
He was immediately admitted to Wilcox Hospital, where doctors found Hironaka had also suffered a small heart attack and had sepsis.
He was removed to another care home and recovered from his injuries, but died several months later of respiratory failure, state officials said.
Cancer researchers get big grant
Dr. Michele Carbone of the University of Hawaii and his international research team have won a prestigious $100,000, two-year grant from the American Association for Cancer Research.
The 2008 Landon Foundation-AACR Innovator Award for International Collaboration in Cancer Research will support the work of Carbone and his associates on mesothelioma.
Carbone is director of the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii Thoracic Oncology Program and chairman of pathology at the John A. Burns School of Medicine. He and his researchers discovered that a unique mesothelioma epidemic in three Turkish villages was caused by interaction between a human gene and a mineral fiber in the environment.
Mesothelioma is an aggressive type of cancer of membranes lining the chest and abdominal cavities. It occurs frequently in workers exposed to asbestos, such as those at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard after World War II.
The research findings can be applied to prevent mesothelioma in other geographic areas and find lifesaving interventions and treatments.
$750,000 to fund Makiki housing
Catholic Charities Hawaii has won a $750,000 grant to provide transitional housing in Honolulu and plans to use the money for property in Makiki.
Priority for affordable units will be given to individuals and families working toward self-sufficiency, including grandparents who lose senior housing because they care for grandchildren, disabled adults whose parents are aging and families reuniting with children in foster care.
The Mary D. and Walter F. Frear Eleemosynary Trust awarded the grant, which will pay for an apartment building and a single-family house in Makiki. The buildings are part of Catholic Charities' plan to create a social service community center and campus.
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Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff
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Maui arson does $35,000 damage
WAILUKU » Maui fire officials said arson caused an estimated $35,000 in damage at a building site operated by Kiewit Pacific Co.
The fire burned a container with tools, part of an office trailer and a pressure washer at the site near the water treatment plant in Haliimaile on Sunday night, said fire Battalion Chief Jack Williams.
Williams said a flatbed truck was stolen and found burning at 9:36 a.m. yesterday on Holomua Road, about two miles from the construction site.
He said a gas can was found on the flatbed of the truck.
Williams said according to workers, they have had problems with break-ins in the past and had put cement pylons in front of containers to block the theft.
He said someone used heavy equipment at the site to move the pylons and get to the containers.
Firefighters received a call about the fire at 9:32 p.m. Sunday and had the fire under control in about 21 minutes, Williams said.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Wanted Kona man featured on show
A new episode of "Hawaii Island's Most Wanted" will feature a missing 28-year-old Waimea man and a Kona man wanted on warrants including one for "ice" trafficking.
The show, which began airing Sunday night, airs on Channel 54 at 5 p.m. Sundays and 5:30 p.m. Fridays.
Sunday's show featured William Tory Jensen, wanted on a bench warrant for methamphetamine trafficking and an assortment of other warrants.
Jensen is 5 feet 10 inches tall, about 130 pounds, with brown eyes and short brown hair. He is known to frequent the Kailua-Kona area.
Anyone with information on Jensen is asked to call the police nonemergency number at 935-3311. Anonymous calls can be made to CrimeStoppers at 961-8300 in Hilo or 392-8181 in Kona.
Police also want help in finding Frank Ng Jr., reported missing Feb. 13. Ng is believed to be in the Puna area, police said.
Anyone who knows his whereabouts is asked to call Sgt. Jeremie Evangelista at 887-3080.
He is described as Hawaiian, 5 feet 8 inches tall, 175 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. He has a tattoo on his left forearm and another on his back.
HONOLULU
Suspect sought in Liliha bank heist
Police are looking for a man who robbed the Liliha branch of First Hawaiian Bank yesterday morning.
The man entered the bank at 1420 Liliha St. at 10:52 a.m., approached a teller, passed a note to the teller and fled with an undisclosed amount of cash, police said.
The man was last seen fleeing on foot makai on Liliha Street.
The man is described as in his 20s, 5 feet 8 inches tall, 180 pounds, and unshaven with a mustache. He was wearing black shorts, an aloha shirt and slippers.
Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300 or *CRIME on a cell phone.
Sexual assault in Kapahulu alleged
A 25-year-old woman reported being sexually assaulted in Kapahulu early Sunday morning by a man in his 20s.
The woman told police she met the man earlier in the evening, and he allegedly sexually assaulted her between 3:30 and 4 a.m. Sunday.
Police have not yet arrested the suspect.