Moderate earthquake shakes the Big Island
HILO -- A moderate earthquake estimated at 5.5 on the Richter scale hit the Big Island last night.There were no reports of damage or injuries.
The earthquake was centered on the southeastern flank of Kilauea, according to Big Island Civil Defense.
It was the latest in a series of moderate earthquakes that knocked items off shelves in stores and homes in Volcano village Sunday night and yesterday morning, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said.
The quakes started at 9:56 p.m. Sunday with a 4.6 shaker, said seismologist Paul Okubo at the observatory. That was followed by a series of smaller ones, including a 4.1 magnitude at 1:59 a.m. and a 3 magnitude at 5 a.m.
All were located on the eastern edge of Kilauea's summit caldera, about 1 kilometer deep, he said.
The quakes had no effect on the continuing eruption, leading Okubo to describe them as "structural adjustment" of underground rocks, rather than being directly linked to eruptive activity.
Utility pole nearly falls on Nimitz Highway
Hawaiian Electric Co. hoped to replace a utility pole that snapped near its base and threatened to fall onto Nimitz Highway during rush hour yesterday afternoon.Traffic backed up throughout downtown Honolulu for about two hours from about 4:30 p.m.
The pole was hanging by its wires when utility crews arrived. Workers managed to de-energize the lines and planned to work through the night to replace the pole.
West-bound lanes of Nimitz Highway and the makai-bound lanes of Smith Street and Nuuanu Avenue were closed for more than two hours from about 4:30 p.m.
Two of the five lanes on were reopened at 6:40 p.m.
Hawaiian Electric Co. spokesman Fred Kobashikawa said it appeared the pole suffered insect and wood rot damage.
About 15,500 students qualified as National Merit semifinalists nationwide. A story in yesterday's Star-Bulletin gave an incorrect number. Correction
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Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffPossible gang member sought in stabbing
A suspected gang member who stabbed another man in downtown last night is being sought by police.Police were called out to Nimitz Highway and Mauna Kea Street after receiving a report that 20 to 30 juvenile males were fighting at 8:55 p.m.
The fight was gang related, according to officials.
The injured man was taken to Queen's Hospital in critical condition but later was upgraded to guarded, police said.
No one else was seriously hurt.
Four-car accident shuts down H-3 town-bound
The town-bound lanes of the H-3 freeway were closed by a four-car accident yesterday afternoon.The Honolulu Fire Department's hazardous materials unit was called to the scene on the Kaneohe side of the freeway because one of the vehicles involved in the incident was a pick-up truck carrying a chemical for termite treatment.
The pesticide was determined not to be a threat to humans and was cleaned off the freeway.
The accident happened at about 1:30 p.m. Four people suffered minor injuries.
Trio wanted in hotel robbery of man, ex-wife
Police are searching for a woman and two men in connection with an armed robbery last night at a Waikiki hotel.A man, 48, and his former wife, 42, were at the Hobron Outrigger Hotel when he received a call from a woman named "Tanya" he met the night before, police said.
At about 11 p.m., Tanya showed up at his room, they said. As she stepped away from the door, two men -- one with a handgun -- entered the room as Tanya walked away.
The two men ordered the man and his former wife to the floor, police said. The suspects then fled with money and valuables.
Bu La'ia held by police on arrest warrants
Comedian Shawn Kaui Hill, better known as Bu La'ia, was arrested last night in Kailua on arrest warrants.According to arrest records, Hill, 32, was arrested at 9:30 p.m. for criminal contempt of court. He was being held at the police headquarter's cellblocks this morning.
Hill was arrested last month for allegedly stealing a surfboard, and in July for allegedly damaging a vending machine.
Man hurt in accident Sunday dies a day later
HILO -- A Big Island man died yesterday of injuries sustained in a traffic accident Sunday night, police said.Gary Cardines Jr., 26, of Paradise Park subdivision, was driving on 24th Street in the subdivision at about 11 p.m. when he ran off the road and overturned, police said. Officers are investigating whether alcohol was a factor.
Cardines was taken to Hilo Hospital and then to Queens Hospital, where he died at 3:25 p.m. yesterday.
IN THE COURTS
Defendant says Brewer grabbed him, 'looked evil'
Hotel executive Kenneth Brewer was a "nice man, gentle," the person who killed him testified yesterday. Brewer bought him some drinks and they had normal conversation about work.Stephen Bright, 30, said he had no idea that a short time after he met Brewer in a homosexual bar, that Brewer would make a sexual advance toward him, looking "evil."
"He never came on that way, as a gay person," said Bright, who is charged with the second-degree murder of Brewer, 58, in the early hours of Oct. 1.
Bright, a construction worker who said he is not homosexual, testified that he went home with Brewer to his Hawaii Kai condominium for more drinks. They were sitting in the victim's bedroom, and Brewer disappeared for a few minutes. "Mr. Brewer came back naked" and said he wanted to have sex, the defendant said in Circuit Judge John Lim's courtroom.
"He grabbed my throat and crotch.... I was scared. I don't know what got into him. He looked evil. He was going to do it if he had the chance."
Bright said he started hitting him, but Brewer never let go of his throat. The defendant said he never intended to kill Brewer. When he left the condo, "I could hear him breathing. He was yelling."
When Bright heard later that day on the news that Brewer had died, he surrendered to police.
Bright said he never took off his clothes. Joanne Furuya, director of the police crime lab, testified earlier, however, that she found blood that matched the victim's on the inside of Bright's jeans, not on the outside, said Deputy Prosecutor Wayne Tashima. The blood did not match Bright's blood type.
Bright also testified that Brewer's bed had been made, that no blankets were on the floor, and that he didn't attempt to cover up Brewer's body.
Photos in evidence showed that blankets and sheets were over the victim's body.
Crackdown on pimps works, U.S. attorney says
As soon as alleged pimps are indicted in federal courts, authorities lock them up without bail until a guilty plea or trial. So far, they've all gone to prison, U.S. Attorney Steve Alm says.That word is "hitting the streets," Alm said, and giving prostitutes more confidence that they won't be hurt by their bosses if they go to police.
Alm said two minor prostitutes who had been beaten by their pimp recently went to Waikiki police.
"Prostitutes are threatened by pimps if they ever turn against them," Alm said. Locking them up gives the people who work for them an "opportunity to get out."
Yesterday, William Clark, also known as Marcus Dupree Johnson, pleaded guilty to transporting a female minor to Hawaii from Portland for the purpose of prostitution.
Clark was charged with the same crime in Arizona for transporting the same minor. Arizona officials transferred the case here, and Clark pleaded guilty to both charges.
Alm said it's common to move prostitutes around circuits, but especially minors.
"It keeps them isolated and dependent on their pimp," Alm said.
Clark will be sentenced Feb. 16 by District Judge Alan Kay. The maximum sentence is 10 years.
Alm said so far, all the pimps who have been indicted have gone to prison. "One of the biggest fears is that it can't happen every case, but it's happened so far," Alm said. "It removes the main threat (to prostitutes)."
With a few more successful cases, Alm hopes to start a campaign of posters that will convince more prostitutes to go to police.
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