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Police seeking help in Palolo fire death
Police detectives will canvass a Palolo neighborhood today for information on fireworks violators near the home of a woman killed in a fire on New Year's Eve.Violators could face manslaughter, reckless endangerment or possibly homicide charges, police said.
Lillian Herring, 81, was found dead on New Year's Day after a 10:30 p.m. fire the night before destroyed her 2615 Myrtle Street house. Fire investigators believe aerial fireworks started the blaze.
Anyone who can provide the addresses of households that were using aerials is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300.
Vice investigators nab 9 people in Hilo, Puna
HILO -- Police have arrested nine people for drugs and other offenses following a yearlong vice operation.Beginning in January of last year, vice officers conducted more than 100 investigations involving gambling, cockfighting, prostitution and distribution of heroin, crack cocaine, crystal methamphetamine ("ice"), methadone, marijuana, and prescription medicine.
Those arrested range in age from 22 to 48 and live in Hilo or the Puna District. All suspects were released pending further investigation.
Free talk aims to cast light on Election 2000
Two University of Hawaii professors will give their analyses of the recent presidential election in the first of a series of free lectures at Temple Emanu-El, 2550 Pali Highway.Dan Boylan, a history professor at West Oahu, will discuss legal proceedings and the conduct of both candidates during the Florida recounts. Tom Brislin, chairman of the School of Communications, will examine the role of the media and media ethics in the electoral process.
"Election 2000: The Final Spin" will begin at 7 p.m. Jan. 14 and conclude with a question-and-answer session.
Ilima students get brief break; school reopens
Ilima Intermediate School in Ewa Beach was closed for half a day yesterday after a break in a nearby water main.Repairs were completed and school is to reopen Monday.
School officials said construction next door to Ilima caused two water main breaks yesterday morning.
The second cut off the water supply, rendering restrooms unusable and forcing officials to release the students at noon.
Looking Ahead
Some events of interest
9:30-11 a.m. Monday, State Capitol, Room 229: Elder Abuse and Fraud Task Force ad hoc subcommittee meeting.
Corrections
-- The first session, which will accommodate 32 students, will be held at the Nuuanu branch of the YMCA, not the Atherton, on Jan. 22. Call 541-5250 beginning Jan. 8. to register. Classes will begin March 5 at the Atherton and on April 2 at the Leeward branch.
-- Installation of the simulators on the neighbor islands is tentatively planned to begin in April.
Police, Fire
By Star-Bulletin staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
Search continues for alleged kidnapper
Police continue to search for a 24-year-old man they had initially suspected of holding a woman hostage in a unit of Nuuanu Garden Apartments yesterday morning.The man, Frank Kealoha Chin, also known as Frank Nobriga, is armed, possibly with a .22-caliber handgun or rifle, police said.
Yesterday, police, including Special Services Division teams, swarmed the 1719 Nuuanu Ave. apartment building where Chin lived with his girlfriend, 36.
Police arrived at the scene at 6:42 a.m., believing the girlfriend was being held hostage. But after nearly four hours, police were called off. The woman who called 911 had finally let police into the apartment. They discovered Chin had fled the apartment shortly before their arrival.
On New Year's Day, Chin had allegedly taken the woman against her will from a Pearl City home to her Nuuanu Avenue apartment, where he threatened her several times and refused to release her, police said.
A tip yesterday that Chin had been seen in Waianae yielded evidence he had been at a house on Alta Street, but Chin was not found.
Chin faces possible kidnapping and first-degree terroristic threatening charges. He is also wanted on a parole revocation warrant. Police say he is a career criminal with convictions for first-degree robbery, five first-degree burglary convictions, a weapons offense, two convictions of auto theft, second-degree theft and misdemeanor offenses.
Chin is described as 5 feet 7 inches, 165 pounds, medium build, with black hair, brown eyes, a beard and mustache, tattoos on his left hand and right ankle, and a scar on his left wrist.
Police warn not to approach him. Anyone with information on Chin can call 911 or CrimeStoppers at 955-8300.
Canadian arrested for alleged investment fraud
Police have arrested a 27-year-old Canadian man who posed as a day trader and allegedly defrauded a Waikiki couple.The couple told police the man promised to invest their money in stocks in October, but the couple learned the money was never invested.
The victims, ages 28 and 31, said they know of three other people who have given money to the suspect to invest.
The suspect was arrested for second-degree theft Thursday at 1888 Kalakaua Ave.
Woman found at beach died of fall from cliff
HILO -- A woman whose body was found at the base of a cliff at Kehena Beach Dec. 29 died of a fall from the cliff, according to autopsy results released by police.She was previously identified as Ute "Sunami" Leinmuller, 41, of no permanent address.
Big Island had fewer drunken driving arrests
HILO -- Big Island police arrested 1,081 people for drunken driving in 2000, they announced.The number was a slight decrease from the record 1,207 arrests in 1999, but still above the 1,056 arrests in 1998.
The number of fatal accidents was 38 last year compared to 31 in 1999. But the number related to drunken driving dropped to 12 last year from 13 in 1999.
Of the 1,081 arrests last year, 308 had a suspended license or no license, showing that many drivers were repeat offenders, police said.
