Newswatch
Police, Fire, Courts

By Star-Bulletin Staff

Wednesday, May 30, 2001

Mirikitani defender may target witness's record

The federal bribery trial of City Councilman Andy Mirikitani is scheduled to start June 13 before a 12-person jury in the court of U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor.

Gillmor yesterday denied a motion by Mirikitani attorney John Edmunds to dismiss the charges against Mirikitani, which include theft, bribery, extortion, wire fraud and two counts of witness tampering.

Mirikitani is accused of giving bonuses to two employees and then receiving kickbacks from those funds.

Edmunds won a small victory when Gillmor cleared him to question a key government witness about his criminal record. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Seabright sought to block the line of questioning as irrelevant, but Edmunds argued successfully that it was significant information because the witness, a former employee, may have lied on his job application form.

Seabright said the government's case will take between three to three and one-half days and that he has a witness list of about 25 people. Edmunds said he expects his case will take about the same time. Jury selection will begin Tuesday.

Kauai asks residents to monitor water use

LIHUE >> The Kauai County Water Department yesterday asked Lihue residents to voluntarily conserve water due to rainfall so far this year being only 50 percent of normal. The request did not specify any particular water conservation measure.

Corrections and clarifications

>> The name of officiating priest Shinnyo Keishu-Sama, who performed Monday's lantern-floating ceremony at Keehi Lagoon, was misspelled in early editions of yesterday's paper.

>> The Los Angeles Sparks defeated the Houston Comets, 66-63, in the WBNA season opener Monday. Yesterday's afternoon edition of the Star-Bulletin had the wrong team winning.

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Publisher and Editor in Chief John Flanagan at 529-4748.

Corrections and clarifications The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Publisher and Editor in Chief John Flanagan at 529-4748 or email him at jflanagan@starbulletin.com.

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Police, Fire, Courts



By Star-Bulletin staff

Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers

Suspects captured in Makakilo home robbery

Honolulu police arrested two men and a 17-year-old boy in connection with a robbery at a Makakilo home.

Police say the suspects, all from Kapolei, forced their way into the home about 11 a.m. yesterday and demanded money from the female resident while one of them put a choke hold on her. The woman told police she broke free, ran to her bedroom and called 9-1-1.

She said the robbers kicked in her bedroom door and forced her to open her safe then tied her up. They fled in the woman's van. Waianae police located the van on Hakimo Road and arrested the driver. They found the two other suspects in a nearby townhouse with the woman's property. They also found a bag containing a semiautomatic firearm and drugs.

Man allegedly tries to kill wife during massage

A 29-year-old Waipahu man is facing an attempted murder charge for allegedly trying to suffocate his wife while giving her a massage in their Lumiaina Street home yesterday.

The woman told police her husband pinned her arms on the bed with his legs while he was on her back, then put two plastic bags over her head. She said she was able to free her left arm and poke two holes in the bags and pushed husband off her back.

She said her husband told her he was not trying to kill her, just teach her a lesson because he suspected she was planning to leave him. She said she convinced her husband to let her leave for a dentist appointment but instead went to a nearby store and called police.

Police suspect arson in Waialua brush fire

Police believe a brush fire behind Waialua High School yesterday morning was started when someone set a stolen car on fire near an old pump station.

Honolulu firefighters were sent to the school at 4:35 a.m. The fire damaged the car, the pump station and burned about a half acre of brush by the time firefighters extinguished it about 7:30 a.m. Classes at the school were not affected.

Arrested man suspected in second robbery case

Police arrested a 20-year-old Palama man in an April 21 robbery in Kalihi. In that case, a man told police that another man took money from his car and threatened him when he asked for the money back. The victim told police he pursued the robber to a housing complex where the suspect fled in a car with another man. He said the robber got out of the car and tried to hit him, shattering the victim's windshield instead.

The victim recognized the suspect as he was being arrested for a contempt of court warrant Sunday night.

Police said the suspect is also under investigation for another robbery case early Sunday morning near Mayor Wright Housing.

State hospital resident arrested for closet fire

A 19-year-old woman was arrested last night after allegedly starting a fire in a closet of a transitional facility at the Hawaii State Hospital in Kaneohe. Police said the woman got into an argument with another resident and threatened to start a fire. A little while later the woman told staff members at the facility to check her room where they discovered a box of clothing on fire. Workers extinguished it and called police.

Teenagers caught on bus after alleged street theft

Honolulu police pulled over a city bus yesterday to arrest 4 robbery suspects attempting to leave the scene of a crime. According to police, the suspects, ages 15 to 19, approached a juvenile male victim at a bus stop near the corner of Pensacola Street and Wilder Avenue at 4 p.m.

Police said the suspects threatened the victim, then took money and a CD player from his backpack. Police said that after the alleged robbery, the four suspects got on a bus.

Police were called and they stopped the bus five minutes later. All four suspects were arrested after being identified by the victim.

Wife allegedly threatens husband with knife

Police arrested a 30-year-old woman who allegedly threatened her 32-year-old husband with a knife and then ripped their phone out of a wall. Police said the incident took place along Mikohu Street in Ewa Villages.

Police said that both the suspect and the victim were in their bedroom arguing when the suspect said "I wish you were dead." Police said the suspect then scratched the victim, went to the kitchen and retrieved a knife.

Police said the suspect threatened the victim, ripped the phone out and then ran out of the house. Police arrested the suspect a few blocks later without incident.