Newswatch
Police, Fire, Courts
Star-Bulletin staff and wire
ACCIDENT CLOGS H-1
A jackknifed semitrailer caused traffic to back up for about an hour on the town-bound lanes of the H-1 freeway near the Aiea Heights Drive overpass yesterday at 2 p.m. No one was injured. Traffic resumed after a tow truck moved the semi out of the way of traffic about 3 p.m.
Box jellyfish invasion expected to start today
Box jellyfish are expected to arrive today at some Oahu beaches, peaking tomorrow.The Ocean Safety Division advises people to stay out of the water if they do not want to be stung, and particularly if they suffer from allergies to jellyfish stings.
The jellyfish influx is expected to peak tomorrow and taper off by Monday.
The jellyfish influx usually hits Waikiki Beach, as well as Hanauma Bay, Pokai Bay, Makaha surfing beach and Waimea Bay.
Lifeguards stations are equipped with supplies to treat jellyfish stings.
Flushing sting areas with vinegar is recommended.
Anyone with breathing difficulty, muscle cramps or spasms and persistent pain should seek medical attention.
Cop killer faces new trial on more charges
Shane Mark, convicted of killing police officer Glen Gaspar in March 2003, is scheduled for trial on remaining charges the week of June 28 before Circuit Judge Karen Ahn.Deputy public defender Debra Loy had asked the court earlier to delay the trial because she is ill. Her doctor has given her the OK to return to work after June 21, her co-counsel Terri Marshall told the court yesterday.
Deputy Prosecutor Chris Van Marter objected to the delay, saying the state was ready to proceed this week.
Mark faces charges of first-degree attempted murder for pointing a gun at Gaspar's partner, Calvin Sung, as they tried to arrest Mark, and for shooting at another man in Moanalua in February 2003. The jury that sat on Mark's trial in December could not reach a verdict on those counts.
3 finalists are named for Kauai police chief
LIHUE >> The Kauai Police Department announced the three finalists for the post of Kauai police chief yesterday.They include K.C. Lum, currently the acting chief; retired Honolulu police Maj. Darryl Perry, who previously worked in the Kauai Police Department; and Lt. Regina Venture, the first female Kauai police officer ever promoted to lieutenant and currently the head of the department's investigations section.
The list was pared from six qualified applicants. The Police Commission plans to pick a new chief within a month.
The post has been open since last fall when Chief George Freitas accepted a $200,000 buyout after winning a long legal battle against the commission's attempts to fire him.
Police, Fire, Courts
By Star-Bulletin staffLEEWARD OAHU
2 teens nabbed after alleged robbery at Pearlridge
Police arrested two boys, ages 17 and 15, for second-degree robbery Wednesday after they allegedly robbed two 13-year-old boys at Pearlridge Center. The incident occurred at 6:10 p.m.Police said the older suspect demanded money, threatened to harm the victims and took property from them.
Police said that while fleeing the scene, the younger suspect assaulted one of the victims.
Police later arrested the suspects without incident.
Argument between friends ends in robbery
Police arrested a 41-year-old Pearl City man Wednesday for allegedly robbing a friend of her jewelry.Police said the suspect got into an argument last Friday with the 40-year-old woman at her Pearl City house, hit her in the face and demanded her jewelry.
The woman gave the suspect her jewelry and then fled in her vehicle.
Patrol officers found the man Wednesday after they responded to a parking complaint. He was arrested for second-degree robbery and for violating a court order to stay away from the woman.
NORTH SHORE
Decomposing body found in home ID'd
The city Medical Examiner's Office has identified the 61-year-old Sunset Beach man whose decomposing body was found June 2 as Percy Baker.An autopsy revealed Baker was stabbed in the chest, and police reclassified the case as a homicide.
Police discovered Baker's body after his employer became concerned that he had not shown up for work.
A neighbor said she went to check on him when the employer called her, and smelled a foul odor when she opened the front door.
No suspects have been arrested.
HONOLULU
Missing injured hiker returns safely to hotel
A Texas man who was injured while hiking with his family in Manoa, and who was the subject of a search by fire rescue crews, apparently walked out on his own.The man, in his mid-40s, set out with his wife and two children at 10 a.m. Wednesday, said fire Capt. Kenison Tejada. They hiked to Manoa Falls and split up on their way out.
The man and his daughter took one trail, and his wife and son took another. The man then injured his leg and sent his daughter for help, Tejada said.
She walked off the trail near Lyon Arboretum in Manoa about 5:30 p.m.
Firefighters searched for the man for about seven hours Wednesday night and early yesterday, ending at 1:44 a.m. They searched Manoa and the Jackass Ginger area of Nuuanu after learning that the man and daughter had ended up on the Nuuanu Trail.
The search resumed just after 8 a.m. yesterday but was called off about 8:25 a.m. when crews learned the man had taken a city bus from Manoa and made it back to his hotel.
Pedestrian critically hurt after truck crash
A 44-year-old Aiea man was critically injured Wednesday night after he was struck by a pickup truck while crossing Dillingham Boulevard near Alakawa Street.Police said the victim was wearing dark clothing and was outside a crosswalk as he crossed from the mauka side of Dillingham to the makai side at about 10:30 p.m. Police said it was raining at the time.
The victim was taken to the Queen's Medical Center in critical condition, police said.
The truck, driven by a 41-year-old Honolulu man, was traveling Ewa-bound on Dillingham.
Man allegedly abuses, threatens girlfriend
Police charged a 30-year-old University-area man Wednesday for allegedly threatening his girlfriend at knifepoint over a period of several days.Benjamin Yurick was charged with three counts of first-degree terroristic threatening.
Police said Yurick physically abused his live-in girlfriend, 38, from May 28 to 30 and again on Tuesday.
The woman said Yurick had held a kitchen knife to her throat and threatened to kill her, police said.
Bail for Yurick was set at $35,000.
Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers
