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Police, Fire, Courts

By Star-Bulletin Staff

Tuesday, January 16, 2001

Xerox seeks to
narrow suit by
co-worker

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Debra Barayuga
Star-Bulletin

Xerox Hawaii today asked a court to dismiss two counts in a civil suit filed by a former employee who discovered the bodies of seven co-workers shot to death by Byran Uyesugi in November 1999.

George Moad, a contract worker who had previously worked for Xerox, had filed suit in October, claiming infliction of emotional distress. He said Xerox failed to take proper action given Uyesugi's history of violent tendencies.

Xerox attorney Crystal Rose argued that Xerox can't be held liable for an employee acting outside the scope of his employment.

Uyesugi's actions were "privately and personally motivated acts of violence," she said. "Xerox didn't hire Byran Uyesugi to murder his co-workers."

But David Gierlach, Moad's attorney, said Xerox knew of Uyesugi's threats, his delusional disorder and gun collection. He said Xerox knew it had a serious problem on its hands, and that whether Uyesugi's conduct was foreseeable is up to a jury to decide.

Uyesugi, convicted of the murders, is also a defendant in the civil suit and is representing himself. He asked for time to respond. He has until Jan. 26 to do so.

Box jellyfish warning up for next few days

The city Ocean Safety Division has issued a box jellyfish warning for tomorrow, with the influx expected to peak on Thursday and Friday. Most of the jellyfish are expected to leave the affected areas on Saturday.

Areas normally affected are Ala Moana Beach Park, Waikiki Beach, Hanauma Bay, Pokai Bay and Makaha Surfing Beach.

If a person is stung by a box jellyfish, lifeguards recommend flushing the area with vinegar. If pain persists, get medical attention.

Windward Rotarians seek top volunteer

Nominations for the selection of an outstanding volunteer are being taken by the Rotary Club of Windward Oahu and the Windward Rotary Endowment Fund.

Nominees for the "Service Above Self" award must live, work or volunteer in the Windward area and cannot be a Rotarian. The winner will be honored at the annual award dinner on April 28.

Letters of nomination should be addressed to the Nomination Committee, P.O. Box 122, Kailua, HI 96734. Include a telephone number.

For further information, call Dudley W. Foster at 262-7176. The deadline for nomination is Jan. 30.

Kona mental facility gets Weinberg grant

A Kona residential facility for those with serious mental illnesses will receive $100,000 from The Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation Inc. Thursday.

The Stabilizing Urgent Residential Facility, known as the "SURF House," is a project of Mental Health Kokua.

The agency will use the funds to renovate the house, which is used for crisis stabilization and rehabilitation services to encourage independent living.

Mental Health Kokua is the result of a recent merger of Mental Help Hawaii and Maui Kokua Services.

Safe haven celebrates 5th anniversary Friday

Safe Haven, a residential facility for homeless people with mental challenges, is celebrating its fifth anniversary on Friday.

Safe Haven, at 41 South Beretania St., will be open from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will feature a history of the project, entertainment and tours. The facility is a collaborative project created by Mental Health Kokua and the Kalihi-Palama Health Center.

Safe Haven provide persons with serious mental illnesses, who have been living on the streets, a secure, non-threatening, residential environment to assist them in reconnecting with the community.

Light the way

By Wayne Shinbara, Special to the Star-Bulletin
City worker Russell Murakami installs a traffic light at North
King Street and Peterson Lane, where several pedestrians have
been hit by cars. A memorial for 68-year-old Taisi Fautanu
Sr., struck and killed in November, is in the foreground.

Maui man represents America at natives exhibit

A Maui resident has been chosen to participate in an indigenous peoples exhibit in Australia.

Kahu Charles "Uncle Charlie" Kauluwehi Maxwell Sr. was selected by the National Museum of Australia to represent the indigenous people of America at their World Indigenous Peoples exhibit that opens on Oct. 13, 2001.

Maxwell will join five other indigenous people from around the world. They are a Maori man from New Zealand, a Nunavut woman and a Cree man from Canada, a Sami woman from the Netherlands and an Ainu woman from Japan.

Their stories will be featured in an exhibit entitled, "First Australian: Gallery of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People."

Maxwell, who has been involved in the struggles of native Hawaiians for more than 30 years, plans to have Hawaiian dancers, musicians, artisans, storytellers and others with him at the cultural festival.

For more information, visit the museum's Web site at http://www.nma.gov.au

Maxwell can be reached at (808) 572-8038 or by e-mail at kale@moolelo.com.

State offering apprenticeships for ethnic arts

Chant, slack-key guitar, lauhala weaving, gourd ornamentation, net making and other Hawaiian arts may win Folk Arts Apprenticeships for advanced one-to-one instruction between a master traditional artist and an experienced apprentice.

The apprenticeships are offered by the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts. Other ethnic traditions such as Okinawan dance drama, Chinese opera and Laotian weaving are also eligible.

Feb. 16 is the deadline to apply for this year's Folk Arts Apprenticeship Awards. Applications must be postmarked by that date. To apply for an Apprenticeship Award, the master artist and apprentice are asked to select each other and apply together as a team.

Successful applicants generally receive from $2,000 to $4,000 in funding designed to cover master artist fees, supplies and mileage costs essential to the apprenticeship.

Up to 17 such apprenticeships may be available this year. For further information, call Michael Schuster, the foundation's folk arts coordinator, at 586-0306, or visit the SFCA Web site, http://www.state.hi.us/sfca

Tomorrow

Some events of interest

7 p.m., Aina Haina Library: East Honolulu vision meeting.

Corrections John Flanagan joined the Star-Bulletin in 1987. A story yesterday said incorrectly that it was in 1986. Former Lt. Gov. Jean King envisions a "Hawaiian-centered home base for native Hawaiians" at the downtown post office building. A story Friday misstated her comments. A caption on page S11 of the Hawaii's Cars section Friday was incomplete. The car shown also appeared in the movie "Harlow." In addition, the last sentence was incomplete; it should have read: "The virtual auctions began this month, combining television with Internet with bidding from requalified participants."

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Police, Fire, Courts



By Star-Bulletin staff

Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers

Lunchtime suspect
Hits offices downtown while workers
are away from their desks

Police sound an alert for lunchtime bandit

Police are asking for the public's help in identifying a man suspected of lunchtime thefts in downtown offices.

The suspect was photographed on a video surveillance camera at 1 p.m. on Jan. 3, police said.

In the last three months, 18 thefts of items such as wallets, backpacks and miscellaneous items left on workers' desks resulted in a loss of $10,000, police said.

Two other cases also were noted involving a similar looking suspect at 3660 Waialae Ave. on Dec. 7.

The suspect is described as a man in his late 20s to early 30s. He is of medium build, has dark, short hair and is clean shaven. When photographed, he was wearing a floral aloha shirt and dress pants.

Anyone with information may call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300 or *Crime on cellular phones.

Police hunt young man in kidnapping, robbery

Police are looking for a suspect in a kidnapping and robbery in Kalihi this morning.

A man in his 20s went to 1520 Gulick Avenue at about 6 a.m. and pointed a gun at six people in the carport of the home, police said. He allegedly ordered a woman acquaintance and another man into the man's white Toyota sports utility vehicle.

The suspect ordered the man to drive him and the woman around Wahiawa and Waipahu and punched the man a couple of times, police said. The suspect asked to be dropped off somewhere in Kalihi Valley at about 8:25 a.m., and the victims flagged down police.

The suspect is described as 5 feet 8 inches tall, 160 pounds, with a medium build and fair complexion.

Suspect uses scissors in robbery at apartment

A 20-year-old suspect robbed another man using a pair of scissors, police said.

The victim was at a friend's house at 2280 Ahe Street at about 8 p.m. Sunday night when a man entered the apartment and grabbed a pair of scissors on the coffee table. The suspect held the scissors to the victim's chest and ordered him to empty the contents of his fanny pack onto the dining room table, police said. The suspect then allegedly took the items and left the apartment.

Police were still looking for the suspect this morning.

Table's collapse kills workman repairing it

A 61-year-old man died yesterday afternoon when a table he was working on collapsed on his head, according to police.

The man was employed at the Coyne Mattress Manufacturing Co. and was replacing a defective motor in a metal-frame table when a sprocket came loose, causing the table to collapse. The cutting table did not have a brace to hold the table up, police said. Co-workers found the man lying dead on the floor at 2:45 p.m.