Court orders new trial in 1997 death of infant
The Hawaii Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for a woman convicted of second-degree murder in the death of a 6-month-old baby in her care.A jury found Earlily Aganon guilty last year for causing the death of Karie Canencia, who died of a severe brain injury in October 1997. Aganon was sentenced to 15 years. Aganon had denied harming the infant. Prosecutors said the baby had been struck. In its ruling yesterday, the state Supreme Court ruled that the trial court erred when the jury instructions and the court's response to a question from jurors allowed them to find Aganon guilty without finding that she committed each element of the offense with the required state of mind.
The justices cited statutes that specify a person cannot be convicted of an offense unless the state of mind required to establish each element of the offense is proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
Rodrigues to file motion to drop kickback charge
The attorney for United Public Workers state Director Gary Rodrigues said yesterday he expects to file a motion to dismiss a charge that the union leader accepted nearly $117,000 in kickbacks from an agent of a life insurance company that provided policies to union members.Rodrigues' attorney, Doron Weinberg, said during a teleconference call in U.S. District Court that he also has a pending motion to dismiss money-laundering charges brought earlier against his client but is prepared to go to trial on the remaining charges, including mail fraud.
Rodrigues and his daughter, Robin Haunani Rodrigues Sabatini, were scheduled for trial Jan. 23 on charges he diverted $200,000 from union health plans to companies she owned for consulting work she did not perform.
Both pleaded not guilty to mail fraud, money laundering and conspiracy.
A federal grand jury re-indicted them Wednesday on additional counts that involved payments Sabatini received in 1999 and 2000. Only Rodrigues was charged in the kickback scheme.
>> The Hawaii Supreme Court is considering an appeal by ResortQuest International Inc. to have the company's claims against hotelier Andre Tatibouet dealt with in the courts. The case is in arbitration. An article in Hawaii Inc. Tuesday said incorrectly that the Supreme Court had opposed ResortQuest's request to move the claims to court. 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 Managing Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at fbridgewater@starbulletin.com.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHonolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
WAIKIKI
Police use beanbag shot on man at Ala Moana
Police Internal Affairs detectives are investigating an incident in which an officer shot a 37-year-old man in the leg with a nonlethal beanbag round at Ala Moana Center.Ala Moana security officers and police went to the center's food court Wednesday night after getting reports of a man with a hammer outside. Police said the man threatened to hit himself in the head with the hammer.
The officers tried to convince the man to put the hammer down, police said, but when the man kept hitting himself in the head with the hammer, one of the police officers shot him in the left leg. The man was taken to Queen's Medical Center for treatment and a mental evaluation.
10 handguns reportedly are stolen from gun club
The owners of a Waikiki gun club reported the theft of 10 handguns, police said.
The Magnum 2000 Gun Club was closed on Aug. 1 for nonpayment of rent. On Monday, some of the business's owners conducted an inventory and discovered 10 handguns were missing. The owners told police the guns were in a display case that was later moved to the business office.
HONOLULU
HPD seeks help finding Kaimuki bank robber
CrimeStoppers and the Honolulu Police Department are asking for the public's help in identifying a man who robbed the Central Pacific Bank's Kaimuki branch.
The bank branch, in Times Supermarket at 3221 Waialae Ave., was robbed Dec. 13. Police said that around 2:30 p.m., the suspect approached the teller and handed over a note that said he had a weapon. The teller placed the money in a brown handbag, and the suspect left the supermarket.
Police describe the suspect as a 5-foot-10-inch male in his late 30s to early 40s, 140 pounds, with a slim build, fair complexion and dark hair. He was last seen wearing dark sunglasses, a green baseball cap, a green baggy sweater and carrying a brown men's handbag.
Anyone with information on this case is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300 or *CRIME on a cellular phone.
2 in critical condition after separate accidents
Two people are in critical condition at Queen's Medical Center from two separate accidents yesterday.At about 6:50 p.m. police said a 79-year-old Waipahu woman was struck by a car while trying to cross Farrington Highway near Kahualii Street. Police said the woman was not in a crosswalk.
Earlier in the day, an 80-year-old man was critically injured when he crashed his car into the concrete barrier of the 6th Avenue overpass in Kaimuki at about 8:45 a.m. Police said the Kaimuki man accidentally stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake pedal.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Fatal Maui car accident seems to be speed-related
WAILUKU >> Speeding appears to have contributed to a one-vehicle crash that killed an 18-year-old Makawao man, Maui police said.Cody-Jo Kailiehu was driving a pickup truck on Makawao Avenue toward Pukalani when it collided with a concrete barrier in a bend on Balthazar Bridge and overturned just after 4 a.m. yesterday, traffic investigator Duke Pua said.
Police were investigating whether drugs or alcohol may have been a factor, Pua said.
