Newswatch

Police, Fire, Courts

Star-Bulletin staff and wire

---

Navy helicopter helps in hurt diver rescue

Navy officials said a helicopter from the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands hoisted two divers off the Pride of Aloha cruise ship west of Kauai late yesterday afternoon.

The two male divers reportedly were struck about 5 p.m. west of Kauai by a commercial tour boat.

The Pride of Aloha picked up the two divers and called the Coast Guard, which was going to launch a rescue helicopter from Barbers Point. However, it was determined that it would be faster to send a helicopter from Barking Sands, according to the Navy.

Navy Petty Officer Christopher Szabo, a rescue swimmer, was hoisted on to the deck of the Pride of Aloha which was then about five miles off Kekaha. Szabo helped shuttle the two men to the H-3 Sea King helicopter. He said one man had a badly cut leg and the other had an injured arm.

The Navy ferried the two injured men to Lihue Airport where an ambulance took them to Wilcox Hospital. The condition of the men was not released.

Kahoolawe director to lead Kalaeloa planning

The man who helped guide the cleanup and return of a former Navy bombing range to state control has been put in charge of developing a former military base on Oahu for civilian use.

Stanton Enomoto, acting director of the Kahoolawe Island Reserve Commission, yesterday was named director of planning and development for Kalaeloa in Leeward Oahu.

Enomoto will begin work Aug. 19 with the Hawaii Community Development Authority, which oversees redevelopment within the Kalaeloa Community Development District at the former Barbers Point Naval Air Station.

Enomoto will have responsibility for moving forward the Kalaeloa Redevelopment Plan, said Dan Dinell, HCDA executive director. That plan calls for mixed use of the former air station, including residential, commercial, light industrial, and park land, on 3,700 acres bounded by Ewa, Kapolei and Campbell Industrial Park.

Web aids Maui police in search for missing

The Maui Police Department has added a missing persons Web page with information and photos to help generate leads in unsolved cases.

"We're using the Internet as a tool to help us in these cases," said Lt. Jon Morioka of the Community Relations Department. "Hopefully, the public will see them or recognize them."

Information on five people are posted on the Web page, which will be administered by the Criminal Investigation Division.

The most recent case involves Roger L. Brittain II, 34, who disappeared on May 21. Police said he was last seen at Pohaku Beach Park in Honokowai about 6 p.m. Brittain is believed to have gone in the water.

The Web page is at www.co.maui.hi.us/departments/Police/missing.htm

---

Police, Fire, Courts



By Star-Bulletin staff

HONOLULU
Kalihi man accused of attacking woman

Police were seeking charges against a 35-year-old Kalihi man for allegedly assaulting his estranged girlfriend with a martial arts weapon yesterday.

Police said the man used a pair of nunchakus to injure the 25-year-old woman at about 10 a.m. The man also allegedly hit the woman with the door of his van.

Patrol officers arrested the suspect for suspicion of second-degree assault, and recovered the nunchakus, police said.

Man, 55, found dead in Ilikai Hotel's pool

A 55-year-old man from the mainland died Saturday after he was found unresponsive in a swimming pool at the Ilikai Hotel.

The man was found at 2:30 p.m. and was taken to an area hospital where he later died. An autopsy will be done to determine the cause of death.

EAST OAHU
Arson a possibility in house fire

Police and firefighters are investigating whether a fire that left three East Oahu men homeless last night was arson.

Firefighters received a call at 6:34 p.m. to a blaze that destroyed a house at 365 Kuliouou Road, said fire Capt. Emmit Kane. Firefighters had the fire under control at 6:59 p.m.

One of two houses on the property was destroyed. An adjoining two-house unit sustained smoke damage.

Firefighters and police were investigating the cause of the fire. Damages were estimated at $270,000 to the building and its contents.

An arson detail unit from the Honolulu Police Department was sent to the scene along with fire investigators.

The houses are owned by Kupele Trust and are rented by three men, said neighbor Walter Kaaihili.

A tenant who stayed in the two-story house was awakened by the yells from neighbor Keoni Jones, who saw smoke from the adjoining one-story house.

The tenant left and was uninjured.

Jones said he told his wife to call 911 and ran across the street to get people out of the house.

LEEWARD OAHU
Blaze damages vacant home at Iroquois Point

Thirty firefighters extinguished a blaze at a vacant home at Iroquois Point Puuloa Navy Housing yesterday morning.

The fire occurred at 6294 Ibis Ave. at 9:30 a.m. Firefighters who received assistance from a federal firefighting unit extinguished the blaze at 10:54 a.m.

Damage is estimated at $300,000.

The single-story duplex home was under renovation and was unoccupied. Fire Capt. Emmit Kane said the home is one of several structures that is slated to be used as homes for rent.

Kane said a man was painting the interior of the house with a sprayer when he heard a loud explosion.

The house was engulfed in flames immediately after the explosion.

Kane said the man escaped the fire uninjured and was able to remove disposable coveralls he wore over his clothes that caught fire.

Kane said the cause of the fire was paint vapors that came in contact with a spark or arc from an electrical source.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Arizona visitor dies in apparent drowning

LIHUE >> Alfred Ramirez, 46, of Mesa, Ariz., died Monday in an apparent drowning in Princeville on Kauai's North Shore.

According to witnesses, Ramirez had been snorkeling just west of the Queen's Bath pool area, when he appeared to be struggling against the swells.

The victim's son swam out to aid his father, using a boogie board as a floatation device. Two kayakers assisted in holding on to the victim until emergency personnel arrived.

Lifeguards brought the victim to shore at Black Pot Beach Park in Hanalei and performed CPR, but with no success. Ramirez was transported to Wilcox Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

An autopsy was scheduled to determine the exact cause of death. If found to be a drowning, it would be the sixth drowning on Kauai in 2004.

WINDWARD OAHU
Kaneohe man critical after 2-car accident

A 60-year-old Kaneohe man was critically injured in a two car accident on Likelike Highway in Kalihi last night.

Police said the man was speeding above the 35 mph limit in the Honolulu-bound lanes when he lost control of his car, a 1997 white two-door Ford Mustang, near Nalanieha Street.

The Mustang slid sideways into the Kaneohe-bound lanes and crashed into a 1997 tan Mazda pickup truck stopped at a left turn lane, police said.

The Mustang pushed the truck into the center median, and then continued in the Honolulu direction before stopping at the opposite guardrail, police said.

The man was taken to the QueenÕs Medical Center in critical condition. The 41-year-old woman driving the pickup was later taken to Kuakini Medical Center with complaints of a chest injury.

Man jumps into ocean in bid to escape police

A 23-year-old man who allegedly punched another man fled from police by jumping into the ocean at Sandy Beach on Sunday, police said.

Police were breaking up a large fight at Sandy Beach at about 8:05 p.m. when one of the men involved punched a 22-year-old man who was driving away from the scene.

The suspect then jumped into the ocean, but after treading water for several minutes returned to shore, police said.

Police arrested him for illegally entering a car when he allegedly reached into the car to punch the driver.

---

Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers