Newswatch

By Star-Bulletin Staff

Saturday, April 5, 1997

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Waikiki killing leads to
arrest of a roommate

Police today arrested a 59-year-old Waikiki man suspected of shooting to death his 20-year-old roommate, then barricading himself in his apartment with the body for nearly four hours.

Police received a call at 11:20 p.m. yesterday about gunshots fired from an apartment at the Scandia Towers at 155 Paoakalani St.

Resident manager Glenn Warneking said he had walked out onto his balcony when he heard gunshots. Within seconds, a tenant from apartment 702 was banging at his door, asking to use the telephone. "I dialed for him. He was too shaky to dial."

The tenant told Warneking he had fled the apartment because one of his two roommates had a gun. He said he heard the shots as he fled.

Shortly after police arrived, the alleged gunman emerged onto his seventh-floor balcony and tossed an object onto the street below. Officers with flashlights and dogs searched the landscaped area bordering the Ocean Resort Hotel Waikiki across the street and found a handgun.

The gunman barricaded himself in the apartment until police negotiators talked him into surrendering at around 3 a.m. today. Police then entered the apartment, struggled briefly with the suspect and found the body.

Motorcyclist killed
in fall from exit ramp

A man thrown off his motorcycle after it crashed into a guardrail was fatally injured in a 63-foot fall from the higher of two exit ramps above Paiea Street near Honolulu Airport.

Kimo Huddleston saw the man fall as he was driving on the lower ramp about 1:10 p.m.

"I saw this body flying through the air," Huddleston said. "He came down head first on the second level, bounced right over the railing and fell into the bushes (on Paiea Street).

Patrol officers at the scene said the man also appeared to have two broken legs and was unconscious when the ambulance arrived.

He was pronounced dead at Tripler Hospital at 1:52 p.m.

Speed appeared to be a contributing factor, said police traffic investigator Sgt. Deborah Wilson.

Milk producers to get more;
prices will go up

The price of milk produced on Oahu will go up April 14.

Gov. Ben Cayetano yesterday approved the state Board of Agriculture decision to increase the base price paid to dairies by $4 per 100 pounds.

The change in the board's milk control rules increases the minimum price of milk in the Honolulu watershed to $27.20 per 100 pounds.

That is expected to translate into an increase of 30 cents per gallon of milk for consumers.

"This raise will give our dairy producers on Oahu the means to keep their businesses in operation," Cayetano said in an announcement. "I share the concerns of the Board of Agriculture that this action will not hurt our market share. Ultimately, the market will have to determine the future of our local milk industry."