Immigration director admits fault in Chai case
U.S. Immigration District Director Donald Radcliffe says his agency was remiss in failing to respond sooner to requests by chef Chai Chaowasaree for documents he needs to appeal his deportation.Radcliffe said he will rectify the matter immediately.
"Certainly we are late, and I have ordered the unit to respond as fast as possible," Radcliffe said yesterday.
Chaowasaree, whose real name is Vichai Sae Tung, filed a Freedom of Information Act request to the agency in late March seeking all documents pertaining to his case.
He filed a lawsuit Wednesday saying the agency has yet to respond.
Kaneohe boy to be tried as adult in home robbery
A Family Court judge on Thursday waived jurisdiction over a 17-year-old Kaneohe boy suspected in a home invasion robbery of a Punaluu couple in April.Colonel Kaimi Pakele Jr. will be tried as an adult in Circuit Court. Police arrested him after the hearing on burglary, robbery and kidnapping charges.
State tax revenues rise 6.7 percent in May
The state took in $286.4 million in tax revenues last month, an increase of $17.9 million, or 6.7 percent, over May of last year.Director of Taxation Marie Okamura said yesterday the total amount of revenue deposited into the general fund over the first 11 months of the current fiscal year reached $2.9 billion. That is 8.4 percent more than the state took in during the same time period last fiscal year.
The Council on Revenues has projected a 6.4 percent increase in general fund deposits. State lawmakers use the council's projections when drafting the state budget.
Molokai man gets 5 years in sexual assaults of girl
WAILUKU >> Deputy Prosecutor Jerrie Sheppard says a Molokai girl has been devastated by sexual abuse by William P. Luuloa."It has had a tremendous impact on her, and it took away her innocence," Sheppard said.
Luuloa, 65, of Kaunakakai, was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison for having repeated sexual contact with the girl when she was 11 and 12 years old from 1997 through 1999.
Luuloa was originally charged with continuous sexual assault of a minor under 14, an offense that could have resulted in his being sentenced to 20 years in prison if convicted.
He pleaded no contest to three counts of third-degree sexual assault.
Ex-attorney faces 5 years for drug possession
WAILUKU >> A former Wailuku attorney is to be sentenced Sept. 6 on a drug possession charge.
Thomas R. LePage, 50, faces a five-year mandatory prison term after pleading no contest Wednesday to possession of a dangerous drug.
In exchange, the prosecution agreed to dismiss several charges, including second-degree promotion of a dangerous drug.
LePage was arrested with his client Ron J. McDermott on Aug. 14 after police vice officers stopped a pickup truck in Maalaea allegedly containing 15 ounces of crystal methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
Blood samples taken of both men found they tested positive for crystal methamphetamine, the prosecution alleged.
Corrections and clarifications
>> George Kawakami, who died June 2, served in the F company of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team during World War II. An obituary yesterday gave incomplete information.
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. Corrections and clarifications
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
Home-invasion suspect caught pawning guitars
A 20-year-old Waianae man was arrested for theft and possession of stolen property Thursday night after he allegedly pawned seven guitars stolen in a home-invasion robbery of a Palehua Road home in Makakilo on May 22 in which the homeowner was bound with duct tape.The guitars were pawned at Country Pawn in Waianae the day after the robbery. Waianae police identified the man as one of the suspects in the robbery and are looking for three other suspects.
Suspect in April assault surrenders to police
A 28-year-old Mililani man surrendered to police Thursday and was arrested in connection with an assault of a 33-year-old Aiea man who suffered a broken eye socket in an April 9 attack.Police said the suspect and his girlfriend went to the victim's residence to talk to the man's sister.
When the victim and other family members told the suspect and his girlfriend to leave, the suspect allegedly punched the victim in the eye, causing a fracture to his eye socket.
Reckless driver arrested after Waikiki accident
A 19-year-old Kalihi man was arrested for auto theft, driving under the influence of alcohol and failure to render aid in Waikiki about 7 p.m. Thursday after he allegedly crashed a stolen car and then fled on foot.Police in Waikiki were alerted of a hazardous driver who was operating a vehicle they discovered was reported stolen that morning. When they tried to stop the vehicle, police said the driver sped off, colliding with another vehicle at the corner of Kuhio Avenue and Launiu Street.
Patrol officers caught the man, whom they said was intoxicated, on Launiu Street.
Auto theft suspect found sleeping in a stolen car
Police arrested a 20-year-old man Thursday morning after they found him sleeping in a stolen car with its engine running and numerous stolen items inside.Police said the items were stolen from vehicles in the Aikahi and Kaneohe Bay Drive areas. The man was arrested for auto theft, burglary and unauthorized entry into vehicles. He was sleeping in a parking lot on Ikeanani Drive in Kaneohe.
Victims trying to recover items stolen in Waikiki
Honolulu police are still receiving calls from people hoping to recover items stolen from their cars in Waikiki last week.Police arrested two Kaneohe brothers, ages 29 and 34, and their girlfriends, ages 18 and 27, last Saturday in a hotel room filled with items taken from cars in the hotel parking lot and other locations in Waikiki.
"The phone has been ringing off the hook," said Margaret Hirakawa, Honolulu police detective.
"I even got a call from Arizona this morning from people who had two brand-new sets of golf clubs and golf shoes taken from their car. But that was before they (the suspects) checked in to the hotel," she said.
Police say the two couples had someone else rent a room for them at the Ohana Waikiki Hotel at 343 Hobron Lane and, over the course of several days, would break into cars in the hotel parking lot and surrounding areas and steal items.
Hirakawa said police recovered items stolen from cars that were in beach and other hotel parking lots.
None of the four people arrested has been charged.
Kauai-Niihau swimmer rescued by Coast Guard
Coast Guard and Navy rescuers picked up a man trying to swim from Kauai to Niihau last night.Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Gary Openshaw said the swimmer, 27-year-old Matthew Davidson, was "reluctant" to be rescued but eventually allowed Navy divers to help him into the rescue helicopter.
"It's not illegal to do this sort of thing, but it costs money to run a rescue operation like this, and it puts our people in danger, too," said Openshaw. "We'd rather people don't do these things."
Rescuers were notified by Davidson's father yesterday morning that his son was attempting the swim, and a Navy helicopter finally spotted him at 6:15 last night.
Openshaw said Davidson was 10 miles east of Niihau when he was picked up.
