Newswatch
Police, Fire, Courts

By Star-Bulletin Staff

Monday, January 14, 2002

Ferry's crew snuffs fire during interisland route

A fire broke out yesterday afternoon in the engine room of an interisland ferry traveling between Molokai and Maui.

None of the 20 people aboard the 100-foot long Molokai Princess were hurt, and the boat made its way to Kaunakakai Harbor on Molokai under its own power.

The fire call was received at 4:40 p.m. yesterday when the boat was 10 miles east of Kaunakakai, the Coast Guard said.

The Coast Guard dispatched a rescue helicopter, a C-130 plane and a 110-foot patrol boat.

By the time the Coast Guard arrived, the crew had put the fire out, Smith said.

No one was injured, although a few complained of smoke inhalation.

A Maui Fire Department small boat and the Coast Guard helicopter escorted the ferry to Kaunakakai Harbor.

Humpback whale council holds activity discussion

The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary's Advisory Council meets 10 a.m.-3 p.m. tomorrow at the Honolulu Airport's Interisland Conference Center, 7th Floor. Agenda items include a presentation by Kona Blue Water Farms on a new aquaculture venture proposed for the Big Island, and updates on sanctuary activities.

Legislative briefing to cover health centers

Concerns about Hawaii's uninsured and underserved residents will be discussed at a legislative briefing at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow in Room 325 of the state Capitol.

State Rep. Dennis Arakaki (D, Kamehameha Heights-Kalihi Valley), House Health Committee chairman, is sponsoring the forum.

The Hawaii Primary Care Association will present plans for community health centers. The health centers comprise the state's largest safety-net health network .

John Mengenhausen, president of the National Association of Community Health Centers, will discuss how the centers meet state needs.

For more information, call Beth Giesting, Hawaii Primary Care Association executive director, 536-8442.

H-3 Halawa-bound lanes to shut down for 2 nights

The Honolulu-bound lanes of the H-3 freeway will be closed tonight and tomorrow night, 8 p.m. to 4:30 a.m., while overhead signs are installed.

No traffic will be allowed from the Halekou to Halawa interchanges.

HPD reminds motorists of ban on blue lights

The Honolulu Police Department is reminding people that only police and state Department of Public Safety vehicles are authorized to have blue lights anywhere on the vehicle.

Police have noticed that some new car alarms use flashing blue lights to indicate that the systems are activated. According to the Hawaii Revised Statutes, it is illegal to "knowingly operate, affix or cause to be affixed, display or possess any lamp, reflector or illumination device which appears to be the color blue upon any motor vehicle, motorcycle, motor scooter, bicycle or moped."

Any violation is punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 or up to a year in prison or both. The prohibition does not apply to factory-installed equipment.

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.

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Police, Fire, Courts



By Star-Bulletin staff

Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers

HONOLULU

Makiki man, 51, arrested in stabbing of woman, 42

A 51-year-old Makiki man was arrested for attempted murder this morning for allegedly stabbing his 42-year-old girlfriend at her Ala Moana apartment.

Police said the man left the apartment at 1868 Kahakai Dr. last night following an argument. He returned about 12:30 a.m. and wanted to get back into the second-floor apartment, but the woman refused to let him in.

Police said the man broke a window to enter the apartment and stabbed the woman in the neck and chest. She was taken to Queen's Medical Center where she is in guarded condition.

Police charge man, 18, in Century Center stabbing

Police this weekend filed an attempted murder charge against the suspect in Thursday's stabbing in the Century Center parking lot.

Dominic A. Bardi, 18, of a Kapiolani Boulevard address, is accused of stabbing another man with a broken beer bottle in an early morning fight. His bail is $50,000.

Witnesses told police they saw Bardi pick up a beer bottle during the 2 a.m. fight, break it on a parked vehicle, then use it to stab a man in the neck. The man was taken to Queen's Medical Center in critical condition. Police said Bardi fled but later returned to the scene where he was arrested.

Homeless man arrested in attempted shoplifting

Police arrested a 44-year-old homeless man after he tried to rob a downtown supermarket yesterday afternoon.

The man shoplifted items from the Pali Safeway store and tried to leave. The store manager tried to stop him, but the suspect punched the manager in the face and attempted to flee with the merchandise.

The suspect was subdued and detained until police arrived and arrested the man at 3:20 p.m. for second-degree robbery. The case is pending investigation.

WAIKIKI

Girlfriend implicated in Waikiki man's robbery

Police said the girlfriend of a man who was robbed in his Waikiki apartment early this morning was an accomplice to the robbery.

The man told police he was asleep at this apartment at 2037 Ala Wai Blvd. about midnight when there was a knock on the door, which his girlfriend answered. The man said he heard his girlfriend talking to another female then two men armed with a knife and pipe entered the apartment and bound his wrists and ankles with plastic ties. Police said the suspects demanded money and drugs then left. They said the victim's girlfriend left with the suspects willingly.

CENTRAL OAHU

Police look for possible link between 3 robberies

Police are trying to determine whether three armed robberies yesterday morning are related.

At 4 a.m. in Waipahu, a man was allegedly robbed at gunpoint after withdrawing money from a bank machine, police said. As he walked to his car, a man approached him with a black handgun and ordered the man to withdraw more money.

The suspect fled on foot with the man's cash and fanny pack.

At 4:20 a.m., two men wearing ski masks allegedly robbed a Shell Gas Station at 98-080 Kamehameha Hwy.

The two suspects, who carried silver semiautomatic handguns, could not open the gas station's safe but stole 11 packs of Newport cigarettes, police said. They fled after forcing the clerk to lie on the ground, police said.

At 5 a.m., two ski-masked suspects brandishing guns allegedly robbed an establishment at Stadium Mall, police said. One suspect demanded that the clerk open the cash register while the other attempted to kick in the office door, police said.

The clerk put the money in a plastic bag and handed it to one of the suspects, then both fled on foot, police said.

LEEWARD OAHU

Man sought for allegedly shooting at 2 women

Police are looking for a man who allegedly fired eight shots at two women sitting on Manuulaula Street in Maili at 1 a.m. Sunday.

According to police, the two women were sitting in the road waiting for a friend when the suspect rode by on a bicycle.

When he reached an intersection about 75 feet away, he turned back and fired toward the two women, police said. One round ricocheted off a fence and struck one woman in the lower hip but did not penetrate the skin, police said.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Unidentified woman dies in apparent drowning

KAILUA-KONA >> Big Island police are trying to identify a woman who apparently drowned at Kahaluu Beach Park.

Police and fire crews called to the park around 7:45 a.m. Saturday found the woman floating in shallow water, officials said. She was taken to Kona Community Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The woman is described as in her early 40s, about 5 feet tall and 150 pounds.