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Police, Fire, Courts

By Star-Bulletin Staff

Saturday, May 6, 2000

Palolo temple to mark birthday
of Buddha with procession

Monks and members of the Korean Buddhist temple in Palolo Valley will celebrate the birth of Buddha with a candlelight procession at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

Festivities will begin at 11 a.m. with bell-ringing to mark the 2,544th anniversary of the birth of the Indian prince who founded the Buddhist philosophy and meditative path to enlightenment.

The site of the celebration is the recently renamed Mu-Ryang-Sa Temple at 2420 Halelaau Place. The temple figured in headlines under its original name, Dae Won Sa Temple, during years of litigation set off by neighbors' complaints that the temple exceeded city zoning limitations on height.

Abbot Dohyun Gwon invited members of other churches and the community to join in the procession, which will begin at 10th Avenue and Kiwila Street. It will end at the temple, where more than 5,000 paper lanterns will illuminate the gardens.

Big Isle cop pleads not guilty; bail reduced

HILO -- Inactive Big Island police officer Sean Kobayashi, 34, pleaded not guilty yesterday to terroristic threatening, and his trial was set for Sept. 11. Judge Greg Nakamura also reduced his bail from $10,000 to $1,000.

Giving his residence in a court document as "in my car," Kobayashi will be allowed to live with his mother.

On leave from the Police Department for more than a year, Kobayashi was charged for allegedly making a threatening call to Suzy Hiro, his girlfriend of 11 years, between April 15 and April 17. He left the voice message on a pager belonging to a friend of Hiro. A court document says the message was, "Tonight Suzy and her son die. I going kill her and then the whole family. You better hope I don't get bailed out."

Driver indicted in Maui crash that killed four

WAILUKU -- A 30-year-old cruise ship waiter has been indicted in the deaths of four people who were killed in a one-vehicle crash in Kahului.

A Maui grand jury returned the indictment yesterday against Davut Duman, who is being held on $25,000 bail.

He has been charged with four counts of second-degree homicide, one count of second-degree negligent injury, and speeding. Police allege Duman was the driver of a sports utility vehicle that failed to make it around a curve near Longs Drug Store, struck a coconut tree and flipped over last Saturday, killing four passengers.

Maui Circuit Judge Shackley Raffetto is scheduled to review the indictment Monday to determine whether to increase Duman's bail.

Banana virus found elsewhere on Kauai

Banana bunchy-top virus has been found in two other places on Kauai besides Kapahi, where it was first discovered.

Lab results show the virus came from banana plants at Kalihiwai, north of Kilauea, and in Wailua Homestead, south of Kapahi.

The state Department of Agriculture recommends that farmers and residents destroy banana plants that exhibit banana bunchy-top virus symptoms, without moving plants from where they are, to avoid further virus spread.

Waianae High tiki will return soon

The banished Waianae High School tiki of Kanaloa will return to the front of the campus as early as this weekend.

The tiki of the Hawaiian ocean god carved by art students drew criticism from a half-dozen Waianae community members and Christian pastors citing separation of church and state. The tiki was taken down in mid-April in response.

Art teacher Christine Ho and her students made the issue public and demanded the tiki be returned. "The DOE addressed the needs of the community. They solved it with aloha," Ho said. "The students were elated."

The attorney general's office had cleared the tiki of religious significance weeks ago.

"I think it's gone much too far. We've resolved it, and we'd like to put it behind us," said Bruce Naguwa, deputy superintendent of the Leeward school district.

Museum reprimands, suspends workers

Bishop Museum officials have reprimanded several employees and suspended one in the wake of the controversy over the museum's handling of the Forbes Cave artifacts.

Last night, museum archivist Desoto Brown was suspended until May 16, apparently for his comments to journalists asking about the issue.

Last week, Bishop Museum employees who had complained about damage to the museum's public image were given letters of reprimand. The letters pointed out, among other things, that employees are required to have "shared values."

This week, following employee protests over the letters' content, some of the original reprimands were withdrawn and milder reprimands substituted.

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Police, Fire, Courts



By Star-Bulletin staff

Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers

CrimeStoppers tip leads to kidnap, rape suspects

Police said a CrimeStoppers tip led to the capture of two men who were charged this week with several counts of sexual assault and robbery.

Chris Linville, 25, and Joshua Fields, 20, were charged with multiple felony counts of kidnapping, robbery, sexual assault and burglary, police said. They are being held on $250,000 bail each, police said.

They are accused of following two female tourists and forcing their way into the women's Waikiki hotel room on April 7 and then raping and robbing the women, police said.

Two men critical after head-on crash on Maui

WAILUKU -- Two men were in critical condition this morning following a two-vehicle collision in South Maui.

Paul A. Baker, 37, of Kihei and Craig A. Lipkin, 29, of California were confined at Maui Memorial Hospital following the head-on crash of their vehicles at 7:45 last night on Piilani Highway about a half-mile south of Lipoa Street.

Lipkin's girlfriend, Diane Hudock, 29, also of California was listed in guarded condition at the hospital. Baker's 1-year-old daughter, strapped into a child safety seat, suffered no injuries.

Police Sgt. Clarence Kenui said Baker was traveling in his pickup toward Wailea on Piilani Highway when his vehicle crossed the center line and collided head-on with the car being driven by Lipkin, who was traveling toward Maalaea.

Police seek man passing altered traveler's checks

Police are asking for the public's assistance in locating a man who is believed to be passing altered traveler's checks around the island.

Police say Emiliano Ison, 34, has been passing altered Traveler's Express Money Orders. He reportedly uses multicolored correction fluid to alter the amount of the checks.

Ison, who is also known as "Isoa Ison" is also wanted on arrest warrants. Police said his last known address was at Kewalo Basin, and he may live on a boat.

He is 5 feet 8 inches tall, 185 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.

If anyone has any information about his whereabouts, call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300.

Hilo man, 19, charged in March armed robbery

HILO -- Police have charged Isaac Caraballo, 19, of Hilo with armed robbery for an incident in March in which an 18-year-old man sitting in his car in Wailoa State Park was robbed at gunpoint.

Police also arrested a 17-year-old yesterday for the robbery. The teen-ager was then released pending further investigation.