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Honolulu Police Chief Lee Donohue honored several police officers today for lifesaving, including six officers who resuscitated him after he suffered a cardiac arrest in September. Police chief honors lifesavers
At a ceremony at police headquarters, Donohue presented 12 police officers with certificates of merit.
Six of the officers helped save Donohue's life after he collapsed from a cardiac arrest during grappling exercises at the police academy in September.
Doctors said Donohue suffered no brain or muscle damage, and credited immediate CPR and use of a portable defibrillator for saving his life.
Donohue returned to work a few weeks after the incident.
Two men awaiting trial on first- and second-degree murder charges in the deaths of two North Shore men are facing additional charges. Suspects face more
charges in murder caseAn Oahu grand jury yesterday indicted Benjamin Tandal, 20, and Edward Vidal Jr., 33, on three counts each of hindering prosecution in the deaths of Steve Tozon, Tranquilino Bati Jr. and Paris France.
Tandal and Vidal already have been accused of killing Tozon and Bati.
Vidal additionally was indicted for conspiring to kill Tozon, and charged with second-degree murder in France's December 1997 death. He is the second man to be charged in France's death.
Former prison guard Styran Rivera this month pleaded guilty as an accomplice to the murders of Tozon and France, and agreed to reveal what he knows about their deaths, as well as the deaths of Bati and another man, John Wailehua-Hansen.
According to yesterday's indictment, Vidal allegedly agreed with Rivera and Tandal that they would kill Tozon.
The indictment says Rivera called Tozon and summoned him to his Waialua home, where Tandal and others were to arm themselves. Vidal told others at Rivera's home to leave before Tozon arrived, it says. When Tozon arrived, Vidal was among those who allegedly diverted his attention while Tandal and others shot him.
The bodies of Tozon, Bati and France have not been found.
Makiki slaying figure to face second trial
A man convicted of beating and strangling 74-year-old Ellen Lum at her Makiki home has been found mentally competent to stand trial for a second time.Circuit Judge Michael Town today said Samson Kauhi was fit to go to trial April 17, based on the findings of three court-appointed doctors.
However, two of the doctors said Kauhi may have been impaired by drugs at the time of the alleged murder, Kauhi's attorney, Clifford Hunt, said. The prosecution has contended that Kauhi's voluntary intoxication is not a legal defense.
The Hawaii Supreme Court in 1997 ordered a new trial for Kauhi because of flaws in the jury selection.
Grand jury indicts 3 in kidnapping, torture
An Oahu grand jury has indicted a 52-year-old man for allegedly kidnapping his former wife, holding her against her will and torturing her with a stun gun at a hotel near the Honolulu Airport.Hidehisa Semba was charged yesterday with 11 counts, including three counts of kidnapping, each punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Prosecutors are expected to ask that he be held without bail.
Also indicted on two counts of kidnapping and first-degree burglary were Kaleilani Perreira and Gaylen Aleka, allegedly hired by Semba.
The trio allegedly broke into the the 50-year-old woman's Ala Moana apartment last week, bound and gagged her boyfriend with duct tape, and beat her. She was taken to a hotel room near the airport where she was held and tortured for over 12 hours, authorities said.
At the time of Semba's arrest, police found $21,000 cash, drugs and other items in a bag identified as belonging to Semba. Perreira is being held on $30,000 bail. Bail for Aleka, who is at-large, was set at $100,000.
Pesticide violation puts Big Islander in jail
A Big Island man has received four months in prison for unauthorized use of a pesticide on a ginger root crop and concealment of it.Kap Dong Kim, 51, of Hilo, also received a $5,000 fine and was ordered to pay $6,113 in restitution.
Kim reportedly directed a worker to spray Nemacur, a restricted-use pesticide, on the crop even though Nemacur is not authorized for use on ginger root. Also, the worker was not provided with required safety equipment, U.S. Attorney Steven Alm said.
The worker experienced acute pesticide poisoning and had to be hospitalized, Alm said. U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor said a prison term was necessary to deter others from misusing pesticides.
Probation revoked for man in fraud case
Circuit Judge Sandra Simms has revoked probation and resentenced a man convicted of theft in a welfare-fraud scheme to spend one year in jail.Falelatai Talili and his girlfriend, Arieta Ato, were sentenced Jan. 6, 1997, to five years probation for welfare fraud.
Under the terms and conditions of the sentence, they were ordered to pay $38,381 in restitution, maintain gainful employment or educational or vocational training, perform 100 hours of community service and undergo substance abuse testing. Ato's probation was revoked last year and Simms resentenced her in November to 10 years in prison, the maximum for welfare fraud.
Simms last week also revoked Talili's probation for non-compliance. The judge resentenced him to five-years of probation, and ordered him to spend a year in jail and pay back the state $19,190.
Correction
Savio Development Co. has converted 3,500 leasehold apartments to fee-simple condominiums since 1981. A story yesterday included an incorrect number.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
H-3 fire
Two men arrested in separate stolen-automobile incidents
Police arrested two men in unrelated cases who allegedly tried flee from police in stolen cars.Last night, an officer observed a car without its headlights on in the Makakilo area at about 9 p.m., police said. After a check, the car was reported to be stolen.
The suspect, a 22-year-old man, drove away when the officer attempted to stop the car, police said. The suspect jumped out of the car on Makakilo Drive, but the car kept moving and hit another car, police said. After a foot chase, the officer apprehended the suspect.
Earlier yesterday, police arrested a 20-year-old man in Waipahu for allegedly trying to flee from police in a stolen car.
An officer attempted to stop the driver yesterday at 3:44 a.m. for a traffic violation, police said. But the man drove away and lost control of the car and crashed into the officer's squad car near Kahuanui and Kahuanani streets. No injuries were reported in the two cases.
Aiea man is critically injured in Kalihi motorcycle accident
A 21-year-old Aiea man was critically injured yesterday afternoon when the motorcycle he was operating broadsided a multi-purpose vehicle at the intersection of North King and Kaili streets in Kalihi.Police said the truck was completing a left turn on Kaili Street during a yellow light when it was struck by the motorcyclist, who was traveling west in the far right lane.
The motorcyclist is hospitalized at Queen's.
The truck's occupants were treated at the scene for minor injuries and released.
