CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Jane Serikaku's last day as Iliahi Elementary School principal after almost 17 years was an eventful one yesterday when a nearby hostage situation forced her to close the school.

Standoff cuts fanfare
for principal

The situation with
a machete-wielding man
shuts Iliahi Elementary

CLARIFICATION Tuesday, December 21, 2004 » A man shown in a photo on Page A10 Saturday was not the man sought by police in a barricade situation along California Avenue in Wahiawa. The man shown was one of two men in a house when the suspect, armed with a machete, entered illegally. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at corrections@starbulletin.com.

Iliahi Elementary School Principal Jane Serikaku ended a 32-year career yesterday without the planned fanfare, but plenty of commotion nonetheless.

Before school started, a police standoff with a machete-wielding man in a nearby house led Serikaku to close the Wahiawa school and cancel her own retirement party.

"We had other priorities, so I tried not to think about it," she said. "But the saddest thing for me is I will not be able to say goodbye to all the students. ... There's no closure for me."

The standoff ended without injury, and school officials said they will hold another assembly for Serikaku on Jan. 14, the first day back from Christmas break.

"We closed it for the safety of the children," said Serikaku, who has been the school's principal for 16 1/2 years. "We started calling parents to let them know what was going on, and for the children that were here already, we kept them in the cafeteria.

"Our staff was really in action mode. ... Many of them walked children home. They're so great."

Police evacuated several homes in the California Avenue neighborhood yesterday after a man with a machete barricaded himself inside his family's home before dawn.

The house is at 2010 and 2010-A California Ave., across the street from Iliahi Elementary School where police set up a command post for their operations.

Serikaku said she found out what was going on when she got to work around 5:45 a.m. and contacted the Department of Education to tell them she canceled school for the day.

Family members of the suspect said the confrontation started after the suspect's brother refused to let the man into the house -- where the suspect no longer lives -- around 3 a.m. The suspect allegedly became angry and damaged a family car, then got a machete in the yard and threatened to kill his brother.

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Police SWAT team members brought out this man from a Wahiawa home yesterday after a standoff.

Family members said they called the police but that the suspect ran into a house behind his brother's home on the same property and refused to give himself up to arriving officers.

Police said two other men were inside the same house, and for a while it was unclear if they were hostages.

Police also evacuated several homes surrounding the house where the suspect was located, but allowed traffic to pass through the area since he was armed with a machete and not a firearm.

The standoff ended at 8:55 a.m. after police detonated a "distraction device," which makes a loud bang and flash of light, and subdued the suspect.

"He was arrested without injury or incident," said police Maj. Stephen Kornegay. "We're tried to end the situation without the use of force."

The man was arrested for suspicion of terroristic threatening, criminal property damage, kidnapping and drug offenses. According to state records, he has 27 prior convictions including robbery and assault.

While the police operation went smoothly, Iliahi school officials and students were disappointed that they were forced to cancel the special Christmas assembly for Serikaku.

"I was supposed to sing a song for Mrs. Serikaku," said fourth-grader Payton Nagelmann, who lives across the street from Iliahi and a few houses away from the standoff site. "I like her because she smiles all the time."

Payton's mother, Tammy, described Serikaku as "unbelievable."

"She's so good, we're going to miss her so much," she said. "She shows up for everything, all the activities and functions, even on the weekend.

"What a way to spend the last day of your career."