Fired county worker ordered to stay away
WAILUKU >> Maui County has obtained a temporary restraining order against a Molokai man who was fired this past week from his county job.Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza ordered Herman Coelho Jr. to stay away from county buildings, property and employees.
County officials had sought the TRO, citing workplace threats allegedly made by Coelho, 48.
Deputy Corporation Counsel J.D. Kim said Coelho was fired Wednesday from his job as an equipment operator at the Molokai landfill.
Police arrested Coelho the day before, after they found a rifle and 126 bullets in the trunk of his car, Deputy County Prosecutor Jerrie Sheppard said.
Coelho now faces charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
He was placed on five years' probation in January and ordered to pay a $500 fine and perform 200 hours of community service after being convicted of keeping a firearm in an improper place.
Bone marrow testing scheduled for Saturday
The St. Francis Medical Center Bone Marrow Registry will conduct free registration and testing for donors from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturday at Kapiolani Park.The event will be held as part of the American Heart Association's American Heart Walk.
The registry is looking for as many potential donors as possible, particularly Asian and Pacific Islanders, to match with patients who need bone marrow transplants because of fatal blood diseases.
Donors must be between 18 and 60 years old and in general good health. A small blood sample is collected for tissue typing, and the donor is place on Hawaii and National Donor Registries.
For more information, call 547-6154.
Lane closures affect Pali and Kalanianaole
Oahu motorists are advised of the following closures this week:The right lane of the Pali Highway in the Kailua-bound direction will be closed through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., from the emergency truck ramp to just past Castle Junction to install new telephone poles.
The Koko Head-bound lane of Kalanianaole Highway will also be closed between Ainakoa Avenue and West Hind Drive, through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., for resurfacing and waterline work.
Motorists are advised to use caution and allow for extra travel time.
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>> Rankings of morning radio shows in a story on Page C2 Tuesday reflected audience among adults aged 25 to 54. The demographic was not specified. 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
HONOLULU
Arguing couple held in theft of rental car
Police responding to a call about an argument in a McCully parking lot arrested a man and woman in a stolen rental car about 9:30 Saturday night.Police said two vehicles were in the otherwise empty lot when the officer arrived. One vehicle drove away upon his arrival. A check of the other vehicle's license plate verified the car had been stolen Tuesday from a rental car company, police said.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Police seek information in fatal hit-and-run
Maui police are asking for help in identifying the driver and perhaps others who were involved in a fatal hit-and-run accident on Honoapiilani Highway about 2 a.m. yesterday.Police said a vehicle was traveling south on the highway just north of Puukolii Road when it struck and killed a man walking on the highway.
Police said the vehicle may be a late model with front-end damage. Police also are trying to identify the vicim. He was described as slim, about 40 to 60 years old, wearing red nylon shoes and a black baseball cap with the logo "Moondoggy's."
Witnesses are asked to call 244-6344 or 242-6966.
WINDWARD OAHU
Kaneohe woman loses jokes to thieves
An aspiring comedy writer is looking for jokes --- the ones stolen last night when someone broke into her Kaneohe home and took her laptop computers and other valuables.Julie Elting of Kaneohe said the most valuable items were two thick, 3-by-5-inch notebooks in the laptop case. The notebooks both were more than half full, with scribbled anecdotes on each page.
The notes might not seem funny to anyone else, Elting said. "It was things people would say at work, or a story they might tell," she said. She had been collecting them over the past year.
Also lost were two laptops, a Palm Pilot, cash, a credit card and a PlayStation 2 with a memory card and some games, she said. She had planned to use her notes as reference material for a television script. Elting said the ironic thing was that she had moved the notebooks into the laptop case for safety.
Anyone with information on the case should call 236-8519.
Car crash leaves girl in guarded condition
A 17-year-old girl is in guarded condition and another girl has a broken wrist after the car they were riding in yesterday morning crashed into a concrete barrier on Bellows Air Force Base, police said.The driver, a teenage girl, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, then released pending further investigation.
Police said the girl was driving north on Tinker Road toward Kalanianaole Highway about 12:30 a.m. when she failed to negotiate a turn and struck a concrete barrier.
One injured girl was taken to Queen's Medical Center in critical condition but later improved to guarded condition, a hospital spokeswoman said. The other girl was treated for her broken wrist and released.
WAIKIKI
Police seek 2 suspects in Waikiki robbery
Police are looking for two men who allegedly robbed a Waikiki hotel guest about 4:30 a.m. yesterday.Police said the robbers approached a man at Kuhio and Kaiulani avenues. One brandished a shotgun and demanded his money and wallet, police said. The victim gave money but said he left his wallet at the hotel. The robbers then followed the man back to his hotel, staying at a distance to avoid suspicion, police said. When the man reached his hotel, he ran inside and alerted hotel personnel. By the time police arrived, the two robbers had fled.
Woman, 32, arrested in assault with shoe
Police arrested a 32-year-old woman Saturday afternoon after she allegedly tried to rob a 64-year-old man and hit him in the head with her high-heeled shoe.Police said the man picked up the suspect and two other women downtown and offered to drive them to Waikiki. He dropped off the other women, but the suspect remained in the car, police said.
While the man got out of the car to look for a parking space, the woman rifled through his fanny pack, police said. He caught her taking his money out, and a struggle ensued, police said.
During the struggle, the woman hit the man with the heel of her shoe, causing a half-inch cut on the top of his head, police said.
While police were investigating, the woman tried to pass cash to a friend standing nearby, police said. The bill was the same denomination reported stolen by the victim, police said.
LEEWARD OAHU
Pending trial witness reports hammer attack
Police arrested a 41-year-old man Saturday after he allegedly hit a woman with a hammer because she was scheduled to testify against him in a court case.The woman, 31, occasionally let the suspect stay at her Nanakuli home, police said. On Saturday, he went to her house and threatened to kill her because she was going to testify against him, police said. He then grabbed a hammer and threatened her again, police said.
The woman was hit in the hand with the hammer while attempting to block a blow to her head, police said.
