Newswatch
Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff and wire
2 people in wet suits
A Coast Guard 25-foot boat and a HH65 helicopter spent nearly five hours last night trying to find two people who were seen walking along Honolulu Airport’s reef runway.
seen near reef runwayThe Coast Guard reported that airport security saw two people wearing wet suits walking by the reef runway around 8:30 p.m. When the pair saw the security guards they jumped into the water, the Coast Guard said.
Nothing was found and the search was called off at 1 this morning.
Bank employee indicted for fraud
A Hawaii National Bank employee was indicted by a federal grand jury yesterday on 42 counts of bank fraud.Gari-Ann Wise, accused of embezzling about $72,000, held an administrative position at the bank's main branch on King Street in Honolulu.
Wise, 39, used her position to conduct three separate schemes from November 1999 through last June, the indictment said.
U.S. Attorney Edward Kubo Jr. said two of the schemes involved traveler's checks.
The third involved the transfer of about $40,000 from the bank account of a traveler's check vendor to a personal account to which Wise had access, Kubo said.
Each of the 42 counts carries a maximum punishment of 30 years in prison.
Man gets 10 months for coral harvesting
LOS ANGELES >> A man was sentenced to 10 months in prison for his role in bringing more than 150 tons of live rock and coral from Oahu to the mainland United States.John Marquardsen, 51, of Haleiwa, was part of a ring that illegally collected the material from the reef system in Kaneohe Bay, authorities said yesterday.
Marquardsen shipped the live rock and coral to Los Angeles International Airport between 1994 and 1998 by falsely labeling it as smoked fish, prosecutors said.
Others then distributed it to stores, where it was sold for use in aquariums.
Marquardsen pleaded guilty last year to one conspiracy count and was sentenced Wednesday. He also must pay $30,000 in restitution to the state Department of Land & Natural Resources.
Ticket scam is believed to be several years old
Honolulu police said the recent Hawaiian Airlines e-ticket scam might have actually been going on for several years.Wayne Abe, 55, was charged with seven counts of theft in 2001 after he allegedly sold fake Hawaiian Airlines e-tickets for flights that did not exist. Police said they now believe Abe stopped the scam in 2002 while he was under investigation and began again last fall.
Abe surrendered to police Wednesday. So far, police estimate that victims lost $250,000 from the scam. They said a more accurate number will be available next week.
"We've been getting calls from all over Oahu, the Big Island, Washington state and California," said CrimeStoppers Detective Letha DeCaires.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffNEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Man dies, daughter survives in Maui waves
WAILUKU >> A 41-year-old California man drowned and his 14-year-old daughter was saved after a wave swept them off a low-lying peninsula in North Maui.The two were at a sightseeing place known as Olivine Pools, at mile post 16 on Kahekili Highway on the Lahaina side of Kahakuloa, when the wave washed over the finger of land yesterday morning.
Larry Lyle, of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., died while visiting the pools with his family, including his wife and sister, police Capt. Charles Hirata said. Hirata said he did not know the height of the waves, but they were enough to cover a substantial part of the low-lying area.
Hirata said after being swept into the water, the girl decided to swim to land and was eventually picked up by a county fire rescue helicopter.
Assistant Fire Chief Alan Cordeiro said the teenager was found about 100 feet offshore shortly after 12:02 p.m., about 22 minutes after authorities received the emergency call.
Cordeiro said Lyle was found about 200 yards offshore. Neither his wife nor sister was swept into the water.
HONOLULU
Police warn of fake fund-raiser in Waikiki
Honolulu police are warning the public about a scam involving a recent fake Boys & Girls Club fund-raiser in Waikiki.Police said the scam took place about 8 p.m. Tuesday near the Ohana Hotel, where people reported being approached by children who draped plumeria leis over them and asked for a $10 contribution to the Boys & Girls Club of Honolulu. Police said there was a similar scam about the same time last year, involving children and adults giving people shell leis and asking for donations near the Hilton Hawaiian Village.
Detectives say the Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii is not conducting this type of fund raising in Waikiki.
Suspect sought in Keeaumoku shooting
Police were looking for a male suspect who "for no apparent reason" shot another man in the Keeaumoku area Wednesday night, according to a police report.According to police, the victim, a 26-year-old Honolulu man, was waiting in his car fronting a building on Amana Street, which is between Keeaumoku and Kaheka streets, about 10:30 p.m. The suspect came out of the building and shot the victim, who was wounded in the calf.
The victim's condition was not available, and there was no description of the suspect. Police have classified the case as an attempted murder.
Man is arrested in threats to bus driver
Police arrested a 33-year-old man Wednesday night after he allegedly threatened a city bus driver.Details of the incident were not released except that the suspect allegedly threatened a 46-year-old woman who was driving a city bus in downtown Honolulu about 9:20 p.m.
The suspect was arrested for suspicion of interference with operation of a public transit vehicle, a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
EAST OAHU
Driver, car allegedly attacked after accident
Police arrested a 22-year-old Waimanalo man Wednesday after he allegedly attacked a motorist and punched and kicked the victim's car.The suspect was involved in a traffic accident with the motorist in Hawaii Kai just before 7 a.m., according to police.
After the accident, the suspect allegedly pulled on the driver's-side window of the victim's car until it broke. Police said the suspect reached into the car and tried to grab the victim, a 34-year-old Hawaii Kai man, but failed. The suspect then walked around the victim's car punching and kicking it, then left, police said.
The suspect was later arrested for suspicion of unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle. He was released pending investigation.
Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
