Man, 61, gets 20 years for killing his roommate
A 61-year-old man convicted of fatally shooting his roommate in April 1997 apologized to the victim's family before he was sentenced to a maximum prison term of 20 years, with a mandatory minimum of eight years."I promise I never, never see this (court)room again," Falefia Moe, once one of Hawaii's top fire dancers, said yesterday.
Circuit Judge Richard Perkins also sentenced Moe to one year in prison on a separate charge of second-degree reckless endangering, to run concurrently.
A jury in December found Moe guilty of the lesser charges of manslaughter and reckless endangering for shooting Clint Fleishour, 20, at their Waikiki apartment, and shooting at another roommate, who was not injured.
The defense had argued Moe reacted under extreme mental and emotional distress after his roommates slugged him and shoved him to the floor during a confrontation.
He also had been under stress after his 20-year dancing career ended when the former Kahala Hilton closed and he could only find a job as a dishwasher at a Pizza Hut, according to the defense.
Prosecutors had asked Perkins to impose a mandatory minimum term of 10 years for the use of a firearm in an offense, so as not to depreciate the seriousness of the crime.
It will be up to the Hawaii Parole Board to decide how much time he will actually serve.
Victim's dad urges law on video voyeurism
The father of a girl who was videotaped with a camera hidden inside a restroom at a Baskin-Robbins store in Waikiki has urged state representatives to pass a law that would make secret videotaping of undressed people a felony."My daughter will be forever affected by this incident," the girl's father said.
"Her anger has been multiplied -- as well as the other girls' affected by this sick individual's actions -- in realizing that this crime will virtually go unpunished until you and our legislators change this law."
The Honolulu Police Department and the prosecutor's office support the bill, noting that the offense now is only a misdemeanor.
The House Judiciary Committee deferred action until next week because of questions raised by Public Defender Richard Pollack.
Pollack suggested the bill as written might also make the use of security cameras in department store dressing rooms illegal.
Pollack also said a section that makes possession of the videotapes illegal might be unconstitutional.
Baby born to zoo's white-handed gibbons
A white-handed gibbon was born at Honolulu Zoo this week, the city said.The gibbon -- as yet unnamed and of undetermined gender -- has joined its parents and an 8-year-old brother in the zoo's "Monkey Islands" exhibit.
The mother, named Japan, is 22 years old; the father, Sandy, is 28. The brother, born at the zoo in 1991, is called Santos.
The new baby is the parents' fourth. It was born early Feb. 8.
The white-handed gibbon, like the gorilla, chimpanzee and orangutan, is an ape, not a monkey.
Chief characteristics distinguishing apes from monkeys are the absence of a tail, a rather upright posture and high brain development.
White-handed gibbons are tree dwellers and inhabit forests of Southeast Asia and Sumatra, from lower Burma south through the Malay Peninsula and east throughout Thailand.
New packet available on uncontested divorce
Family Court on Oahu has created a new uncontested divorce packet for couples with minor children.The packet contains necessary forms -- including an order for income withholding and the new supplemental affidavit regarding direct payment of child support -- and instructions on how to complete the forms.
It is available at the Court Management Services Branch on the second floor of Circuit Court at 777 Punchbowl St.
It can also be purchased for $2 on diskette beginning April 1 or found at the Judiciary's home page at http://www.state.hi.us/jud.
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Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffSearch for Marine, 21, to resume off Lanikai
The Honolulu Fire Department planned to resume searching this morning for a 21-year-old Marine who was swept from one of the twin islands offshore of Lanikai Beach.Marine Forces Pacific spokesman Chuck Little identified the missing man as Lance Cpl. Kenneth Abell of Bowie, Md., an accounting analyst assigned to the Headquarters and Service Battalion.
Fire Department air and sea units were hampered in a six-hour search yesterday by rough seas, said battalion Chief Paul Loughran.
"The visibility was really poor because of the rough conditions," Loughran said.
The incident was reported to the Fire Department at 11:47 a.m., and search efforts were suspended by darkness.
Abell joined the Marines in February 1997 and has been in Hawaii since last October.
Police seek man who stabbed 14-year-old
Police are searching for a large man with curly hair who kidnapped and stabbed a 14-year-old boy last night.The boy told police he caught a ride from the man at Hauula Beach Park at about 10:10 p.m.
The man, driving a domestic four-door sedan, took the youth to a dirt road across from the Turtle Bay Hilton and stabbed him in the back twice with a small knife, police said.
The man then bound the boy and dragged him to a fence near a sewage treatment facility, according to police.
When the man attempted to tie him to the fence, the boy was able to escape and hide behind some bushes, police said.
A bus driver, who found the boy with his hands tied, took him to Kahuku Hospital at about 11 p.m., police said. The boy was treated and released.
The boy told police that he knows the man but does not know his name.
Pair of men, one armed, rob Ewa store of $30
Two men who robbed an Ewa Beach 7-Eleven remained at large this morning.Police said the suspects, one of whom brandished a handgun, entered the store at 4:30 a.m. today and demanded money.
After getting $30 in cash and coins, the men fled in a Nissan pickup truck, police said. They fled north on Fort Weaver Road.
The owner of the truck was found unconscious on Farrington Highway in Waipahu. He was taken to St. Francis-West Hospital in serious condition.
Unoccupied house burns up near Hilo
HILO -- A fire of unknown origin destroyed a small, unoccupied two-story house in Leilani Estates south of Hilo yesterday, the Fire Department said.Damage to the house, owned by Terry Bonelli Jr., was put at $50,000.
3rd woman promoted to captain at HPD
The Honolulu Police Department yesterday announced the promotion of 33 officers, including its third woman as captain.Capt. Susan Ballard will be assigned to the Informational Resources Section. She will replace Capt. Bryan Wauke, who is transferring to the Traffic Division.
Ballard has been with the HPD since 1985. The other female captains are Karen Kaniho in the Training Division and Donna Anderson in the Criminal Investigations Division.
Assistant Chief Barbara Wong, who is succeeding retiring Assistant Chief James Femia as head of the administrative bureau, is the HPD's top-ranking woman officer. Narcotics/Vice Division commander Maj. Susan Dowsett holds the second-highest rank.
Also, the promotion of Carolyn Onaga yesterday gives the department three female lieutenant officers among its 1,777 officers.
Other promotions announced are:
Lieutenant: Jerry Inouye, Timothy Boswell, Charles Chong, Owen Harada.
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