Newswatch
Star-Bulletin staff and wire
[The Courts]
Beach boy accused of failure to file taxes
A Waikiki beach boy evicted from a city-owned Kuhio Beach concession stand earlier this month over $202,000 in unpaid concession fees is accused of failing to file his annual general excise tax returns from 1999 until 2001.The state Tax Department announced that a criminal complaint against Gilbert "Uncle Gil" Hisatake was filed in Honolulu District Court on May 21.
Failure to file is a misdemeanor punishable by a year in jail and $25,000 in fines for each year. Hisatake is expected to be arraigned June 4.
A federal judge earlier this month rejected Hisatake's arguments that his right to due process had been violated when the city gave him only two weeks to vacate his Pacific Beach Services concession stand.
The city told Hisatake he would have to leave Kuhio Beach by April 30 if he didn't pay the disputed amount. Hisatake acknowledged that he paid only half of his $12,000 monthly rent to the city during part of his 1999-2001 concession contract.
Hisatake and his attorney could not be reached for comment.
Parents sue driver over death of teen girl
The parents of a 17-year-old girl who was killed last year after she was thrown from the back of a pickup truck in Waimanalo are suing the driver.Janathan R.K. Namauu is named in a lawsuit filed in Circuit Court yesterday by Willie J. and Nora Singleton, parents of Jaime Ann Singleton.
The girl was among several other passengers riding in the back of a Chevy S-10 driven by Namauu on Feb. 1, 2003, when he allegedly drove onto the right shoulder of Kalanianaole Highway to pass another car and struck a cement culvert, said attorney Charles Ferrera. The truck went airborne and hit a utility pole before coming to rest. The suit seeks damages in an amount to be proven at trial.
Namauu could not be reached for comment.
Former Bishop trustee suit dismissal upheld
A federal appeals court has upheld the dismissal of former Bishop Estate trustee Richard "Dickie" Wong's lawsuit against the state.The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco rejected Wong's case, which claimed the state Attorney General's Office improperly sought criminal indictments against him in its attempt to remove him as a trustee of the Bishop Estate. The appeals court affirmed the action by U.S. District Judge Alan C. Kay.
The suit named former Attorneys General Margery Bronster and Earl Anzai, former First Deputy Thomas Heller, Deputy Attorneys General Lawrence Goya, Dorothy Sellers and Hugh Jones, and former special assistant Cynthia Quinn.
Wong was indicted in connection with a real estate deal involving the Kamehameha Schools, as the Bishop Estate is now known, former trustee Henry Peters, and Wong's brother-in-law, Jeffrey Stone. Wong also had been indicted on theft and conspiracy charges, but those were dismissed.
He was one of five trustees forced to resign after a two-year audit by the Internal Revenue Service.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffWINDWARD OAHU
3 suspects sought in home invasion
Police were looking for three males involved in a home invasion robbery in Kailua early yesterday.The suspects broke into the home wearing ski masks and black clothes at about 1:30 a.m., police said. They struck a 48-year-old man and 47-year-old woman with a pipe-like instrument, according to police.
The suspects forced the couple to open a safe and then took an undisclosed amount of money, police said.
The woman was taken to Castle Medical Center, where she was found to have bleeding in the brain, police said. The suspects are wanted for second-degree attempted murder and first-degree robbery.
HONOLULU
Woman accused of stabbing boyfriend
Police arrested a 29-year-old Kalihi Valley woman after she allegedly stabbed her 31-year-old boyfriend Wednesday night.The two were arguing when the woman got a knife and stabbed the man in the abdomen about 6:10 p.m., police said. The victim was taken to a hospital in critical condition but was later upgraded to stable after surgery, police said.
Police arrested the woman for investigation of second-degree attempted murder.
Male driver sought in Kalihi hit-and-run
Police are looking for a male suspect in a hit-and-run accident that seriously injured a 78-year-old woman on Lanakila Avenue in Kalihi on May 19.The driver may have been a man who was seen by witnesses walking makai-bound on Lanakila before the accident, police said. He was described as 5 feet 3, with a brown complexion and a muscular build. He was not wearing a shirt and was carrying a gas can about 10:30 a.m., police said.
Police believe he may have been the driver of the hit-and-run vehicle, described by witnesses as a 1980s model Ford Bronco or Chevy Blazer. A vehicle matching that description was seen parked, or stalled, in the parking lot at 1822 Lanakila Ave. about the same time the man was seen walking. The vehicle was further described as having a high suspension with oversized off-road tires and a chrome grill.
Police said the victim was hit as the vehicle pulled out of the parking lot at about 12:02 p.m. Anyone with information is asked to call traffic investigator Kevin Espinda at 529-3499.
Neighbor arrested for alleged kidnapping
Police arrested a 30-year-old man Tuesday on Bishop Street for allegedly kidnapping his 13-year-old female neighbor.The girl went to his home Monday evening and was unable to leave, police said. The girl was not injured. The man was released pending an investigation.
EAST OAHU
Man wanted over shoplifting incident
Police want help finding David Hoapili, who is wanted for questioning about a shoplifting case at Macy's in March.Hoapili is also wanted for a traffic warrant, and has been convicted of forgery, theft, auto break-ins and credit-card fraud. Hoapili's last known address is in Kaneohe.
The shoplifting incident occurred about 1 p.m. March 29 at Macy's West Kahala, 4211 Waialae Ave.
Hoapili is 5-feet-7, 215 pounds, with a husky build, black hair and medium complexion. He also is clean-shaven.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Timothy Walsh at 529-3069 or CrimeStoppers at 955-8300 or *CRIME on your cell phone.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
$4,000 worth of tools are stolen from van
An estimated $4,000 worth of construction tools were stolen from a van in the Hawaiian Paradise Park subdivision on the Big Island over the weekend, according to Puna police.The theft occurred between Friday and Monday while the van was parked at 27th Street and Kaloli Drive. Police said among the tools taken were three framing guns, a 12-inch Dewalt chop saw and a 2-horsepower compressor.
Police said the tools are marked with the initials "DS" and had the Social Security number of the owner on them. Police advise the public not to purchase any tools with these markings.
Anyone with information is asked to call officer Michael DeCoito at 966-5839, the police nonemergency number at 935-3311, or CrimeStoppers at 961-8300 in Hilo or 329-8181 in Kona.
Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
