Main break closes part of Farrington Highway
A water main break in Nanakuli this morning forced police to close one west-bound lane on Farrington Highway to rush-hour traffic.Neither of the two town-bound lanes was affected.
The Honolulu Board of Water Supply said a break to a 12-inch main occurred just before 1 a.m. in front of the Nanakuli McDonald's restaurant at 87-2028 Farrington Hwy.
The break affected 30 customers. Work crews were hoping to have the break repaired by noon.
HPD officer could go to jail in privacy invasion
A 55-year-old Honolulu police lieutenant pleaded no contest in court yesterday to misdemeanor charges of invasion of privacy. Police arrested Lt. Craig Clissold earlier this month after he was allegedly caught near the window of a Hawaii Kai woman's home.Clissold is currently on administrative leave while Internal Affairs completes its investigation. The misdemeanor offense is punishable by up to one year in prison.
Waipahu tax preparer pleads guilty to tax fraud
A Waipahu woman pleaded guilty yesterday to six felony counts of filing false tax returns, officials said.Dina Caleda, a tax return preparer for RB Tax Service, was indicted last August on 47 misdemeanor and felony tax violations. Pleading guilty to the reduced number of charges was part of a plea agreement, state Tax Director Marie Okamura said in a news release.
In two of the felony counts, the returns claimed the Foreign Earned Income Tax Exclusion under the premise that Hawaii is not a state. The remaining four counts were for returns that claimed excessive and fictitious deductions, Okamura said.
Caleda faces up to six months in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Sentencing was scheduled for Nov. 6.
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
CENTRAL OAHU
Kunia man surrenders after 2 1/2-hour standoff
A 25-year-old Kunia man kept members of a Honolulu police SWAT team at bay for about 2 1/2 hours Sunday night before patrol officers talked him into surrendering.Police said the man's brother-in-law called them to a home in the Kunia Homestead because the man had a knife, was acting irrationally and was believed to be on drugs.
The man had not slept or eaten in two days, police said. When police arrived at about 9:30 p.m., the man shut the door to the home and refused to talk to them.
The man surrendered at 12:11 a.m. yesterday and was taken to Castle Medical Center for psychiatric observation.
HONOLULU
Palolo families evacuated after toxic chemical leak
Fire crews evacuated several Palolo families yesterday after high winds blew away a portion of a fumigation tent. The house being fumigated was located near the intersection of Ahinahina Place and Palolo Avenue.Fire Capt. Richard Soo said that those living downwind from the fumigated home called 911 at 12:30 p.m. and reported feeling lightheaded. Soo said the chemical being used for fumigation, sulfuryl, is highly toxic but appeared to have been blown away by winds.
As a precaution, fire crews evacuated three homes. An hour later, hazardous-materials teams confirmed that the air was safe for families to return.
Public warned of national phone credit-card scam
Honolulu CrimeStoppers and the Better Business Bureau want to alert the public to a nationwide telephone credit-card scam that involves callers claiming to be representatives of First Freedom Financial Bank of Chicago.The callers require participants to pay a one-time fee of $199 to activate a bank credit card and ask for personal information such as Social Security number, bank account and routing numbers.
So far, more than 50 cases have been reported to CrimeStoppers and the Better Business Bureau. CrimeStoppers officials said one woman reported that even after she declined the company's offer last week, someone called her again this week on her cellular phone.
The woman reported that the caller stated the company would waive the fee if she gave her information over the phone and became very angry when she declined.
So far, one consumer has reported money being withdrawn from his bank account after he gave personal information to the company, according to CrimeStoppers.
Anyone with any information about the calls is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300 or *CRIME on a cellular phone.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Maui car accident kills woman, injures 2
WAILUKU >> Maui police are investigating a three-car accident on Honoapililani Highway yesterday that killed a California woman, 49, and left two other family members hospitalized.The woman's 22-year-old son was airlifted to Queen's Medical Center in critical condition. Her 54-year-old husband was in stable condition at Maui Memorial Medical Center.
The accident happened near Ukumehame beach park in West Maui at 11:56 a.m. as the family from San Bruno attempted to make a left turn into the park, police said.
Investigators said another car traveling in the same Lahaina-bound lane slammed into the first car from behind.
Maui police said that impact sent the San Bruno family into oncoming traffic, where they were broadsided by a pickup truck driven by a Kihei man.
Police said those in the other two vehicles suffered minor injuries.
The accident closed both lanes of the highway for about 4 1/2 hours. Maui police are investigating the case as a negligent homicide.
Fire on Lanai caused by unattended stove
LANAI CITY >> A pot left on a stove was the cause of a fire that did an estimated $3,200 in damage to a home in Lanai City yesterday morning, fire officials said.Assistant Fire Chief Donald Moniz said smoke caused most of the damage at the house belonging to Eddie Tolentino at 1448 Hoalauna St.
He said firefighters had the fire under control six minutes after the alarm at 2:52 a.m.
Maui hiker airlifted out of Waihee Valley
WAILUKU >> A hiker was lifted by a helicopter from Waihee Valley on Maui yesterday after breaking a wrist in a fall. Maui fire officials rescued the woman about a couple of miles mauka of the main road an hour and a half after receiving the alarm at 1:09 p.m.
