Newswatch
Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff and wire
Lawyer says chaperon's grief is not harassment
DOVER, N.J. >> A lawyer for a woman accused of harassment for grieving at the tomb of a cheerleader who fell to her death from a Maui hotel balcony said his client is innocent.Susan Sadler will plead innocent at a hearing scheduled for July 27, according to attorney Alan Zegas.
Sadler was a chaperon on a trip to Hawaii, where Lauren Crossan, a Randolph, N.J., cheerleader, died Jan. 12.
Crossan, 18, plunged to her death from a ninth-floor balcony at the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa less than 12 hours after arriving to perform during the halftime show of the Hula Bowl college football game in January.
Hawaii authorities have ruled Crossan's death an accident, saying her injuries were consistent with a fall and that there was no evidence of foul play.
Police said Sadler, of Randolph, has brought flowers and left at least two handwritten notes at the base of a memorial the family set up next to their daughter's mausoleum crypt. She was charged with harassment after the family asked her to stop visiting the site.
Zegas told the Daily Record of Parsippany that the cemetery is a public place and that Crossan was "almost like a daughter" to his client.
"It's amazing that those acts of kindness would be interpreted as harassing conduct," Zegas said. "The fact is that she has a right to grieve as do all other people."
Immunization of keiki rises more than 8%
A recent national survey found the percentage of Hawaii children who have been vaccinated went up more than 8 percent over the previous year.But the state Department of Health said Hawaii is still about 9 percent below the Healthy People 2010 goal, which is to have 90 percent of Hawaii's kids up to date with their immunizations by age 2.
State epidemiologist Paul Effler said that although immunization among children is at its highest since 1999, there are still thousands of kids in Hawaii who are not fully vaccinated.
"Immunizations are one of the most important ways parents can protect their children against serious diseases like measles, whooping cough and hepatitis B," Effler said.
The Health Department is sponsoring a public education program this month called "Protect Hawaii's Keiki, Make a Date to Vaccinate" to help raise awareness about immunizations.
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[Taking Notice]
>> The Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii, which helps visitors victimized by crime or adversity, has named as its chairwoman Jessica Lani Rich, special events coordinator of the Honolulu City Council. Kirk Nakamoto, a sales manager with Bank of Hawaii in Waikiki, was made secretary; and Lee W. Erwin, a CPA with Erwin, Cabrinha & Au LLP, treasurer.Vice chairs are Rick Egged, president of the Waikiki Improvement Association; Warren Ferreira (outgoing chairman), corporate director of security at Outrigger Hotels & Resorts; Jim Fulton, director of communications of the prosecuting attorney's office; Lori Ann C. Lum, public affairs director of Watanabe, Ing & Kawashima; Marvin Silverman, a retired entrepreneur; and Terence C. Wade, of the Emotional Freedom Therapy Center.
>> Big Brothers Big Sisters of Honolulu has received $10,000 from the First Hawaiian Foundation, the charitable arm of First Hawaiian Bank.
"Taking Notice" also runs on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffWINDWARD Oahu
Armed parole violator is sought by police
Police said they are looking for a parole violator armed with a 9 mm handgun who was last seen in Waimanalo earlier this week.
Leland Palea, 37, is wanted for a parole revocation warrant, failure to continue drug treatment, and terroristic threatening.
Palea also has seven felony convictions for burglary, terroristic threatening and auto theft.
Palea, also known as Kalani Anson, is 5 feet 9 inches tall, 240 pounds, with a heavy build, black-gray hair, brown eyes and multiple tattoos, including four on his upper back that say, "Palea," "Taevia," Jason" and "Jasmine."
One tattoo on his lower back says, "Eastsidaz," and there are other tattoos on both forearms.
Palea was last seen on Tuesday while driving a black Honda car with dark-tinted windows in Waimanalo.
Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300 or by dialing *CRIME on a cellular phone.
LEEWARD OAHU
Man is arrested after SUV collides with truck
Police arrested a 34-year-old Kapahulu man for suspicion of drunken driving early yesterday morning after his sport utility vehicle collided head-on with a pickup truck while traveling in the wrong direction on Farrington Highway.Police said the suspect was driving a 1993 Nissan Pathfinder town-bound in the Waianae-bound lanes when he collided with a white 1988 Chevy pickup truck about 1:24 a.m. in an unlit area near Kahe Point.
A 49-year-old Waianae man driving the pickup truck and a female passenger were taken to the Queen's Medical Center in critical condition.
The driver was later upgraded to guarded condition, and the woman was upgraded to serious condition.
The suspect was taken to St. Francis Medical Center West where he was treated for minor injuries, police said.
Police said speed and alcohol were factors in the crash.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Police look for clues in Big Island burglary
Big Island police are asking for the public's help in solving a burglary last Thursday in the Keopu mauka area of Holualoa in Kona.Police said two .22-caliber semiautomatic pistols, a 9 mm semiautomatic pistol, two 30-30 lever-action rifles, four gold rings and two gold bracelets were stolen from a home.
Officers are looking for a male suspect for questioning.
He is described as a male, 20 to 30 years old, 5 feet 3 inches tall, 140 pounds, with red-colored, scraggly medium-length curly hair and large ears.
Police described the suspect's vehicle as an older-model Toyota pickup truck seen parked on the side of the road near the victim's residence.
Anyone with the information is asked to call Detective Gary Souther, of the West Hawaii Criminal Investigation Section, at 326-4231 or the police non-emergency number at 935-3311. Those who wish to remain anonymous may call CrimeStoppers at 329-8181 in Kona or 961-8300 in Hilo.
Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
