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Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff and wire
Likelike lanes to close for construction work
Lanes on Likelike Highway will be closed Monday through next Friday for reconstruction and paving.From 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., the two town-bound lanes between Kahekili Highway and Valley View Drive will be closed for work. Motorists should expect night work on Likelike for two weeks and are advised to take Pali Highway or H-3 freeway.
Other Monday-to-Friday roadwork:
>> One Honolulu-bound lane from the Wilson Tunnel to the Burmeister Overpass will be closed from 3:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for guardrail installation, shoulder reconstruction and highway lighting work.
>> One lane will be closed Honolulu-bound between Valley View Drive and Burmeister Overpass from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Kaneohe-bound from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Mental test is rejected for comedian on trial
WAILUKU >> Comedian Shawn Hill will not have to undergo a psychiatric evaluation requested by the county prosecutor's office in Maui Circuit Court. Hill, 37, also known as Bu La'ia, is being held on $15,000 bail on two counts of first-degree terroristic threatening and first-degree assault, stemming from a conflict with two animal control officers on Nov. 18. His trial in Circuit Court is on March 29.Deputy public defender Jon Apo said the judge ruled yesterday in Hill's favor after the defense argued there was no factual basis for a mental evaluation.
"He knows what he's being charged with, why he's being charged, and he wants his day in court," Apo said.
Hill has pleaded innocent to the charges arising from him trying to stop animal control officers from impounding his dogs on Hawaiian Homes land in Kula.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffHONOLULU
Palolo man arrested for alleged sex assault
Police arrested a 46-year-old Palolo man Wednesday for allegedly sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl.Police said the girl reported the alleged assault to school officials, who notified police. Police said the assault happened about 6 p.m. Saturday.
The suspect was arrested for suspicion of first-degree sexual assault at 9:45 p.m. Wednesday at his home.
Convict is a no-show at furlough program
Honolulu police and the state Department of Public Safety are asking for the public's help in locating a Laumaka Work Furlough Program escapee.Police said Francis Kekona failed to return to the program at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. Kekona has convictions for robbery, theft and assault.
Kekona, 32, is 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighs about 180 pounds and has a medium build, with brown hair and brown eyes. Police said he is known to frequent Kalihi, Pearl City and Maui.
Anyone with information about Kekona's whereabouts is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300 or *CRIME on a cellular phone.
Masked man robs clerk at knifepoint
Police are looking for a masked man who robbed a 39-year-old female store clerk at knifepoint in Kalihi Wednesday night.Police said the knife-wielding suspect entered a Kalihi store about 10:15 p.m. and demanded money from the clerk. The suspect then reached into the cash register and took an undisclosed amount of cash, police said.
NORTH SHORE
Drowned soldier was Texas woman
The U.S. Army has identified the Schofield Barracks soldier who was swept out to sea last Friday at Waimea Bay.Pvt. Guadalupe I. Duranbatres, 20, was one of six soldiers swept into the ocean by high waves just before midnight last Friday. The five other soldiers swam back to shore.
The Honolulu Fire Department searched for the woman until Tuesday and found no sign of her. The U.S. Coast Guard also aided in the search.
Duranbatres, of Socorro, Texas, was a supply specialist assigned to the 540th Quartermaster Company, 17th Corps Support Battalion.
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