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Taking Notice

» The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill-Oahu has received $16,000 for its work on behalf of people affected by serious mental illness from the Rev. Abraham K. Akaka Ministries Foundation, $2,000; Atherton Foundation, $2,000; Movie Museum in honor of Helen G. Chapin, Ph.D., $2,000; and Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation Inc., $10,000.

» Hawaii Opera Theatre has received a $15,000 grant from the Alexander & Baldwin Foundation to support this year's opera season and promote the "Supertitles" component of the productions. Supertitles, projected above the stage, are the English text translations of the opera performance presented in a foreign language.

» Mauna Lani Resort's first annual Mauna Lani Charity Cup golf tournament awarded the Friends of the Children Justice Center in Hilo $1,002 for its victory. The Waimea YMCA placed second, earning $667.

» Big Brothers Big Sisters of Honolulu has received a $5,000 donation from the Hawaii Hotel Industry Foundation and the Hawaii Hotel & Lodging Association's 26th Annual Visitor Industry Charity Walk.

The funds will be used to develop its mentoring programs and efforts to have high school students volunteer as friends and mentors to elementary school children.

» Big Brothers Big Sisters of Honolulu has made J.P. Damon of Kaimana Ventures Ltd. its 2005 chairman; Karen Robert Shaw of Prudential Locations, vice chairwoman; Michael Murakoshi of First Hawaiian Bank, treasurer; Stephanie Tom of Finance Enterprises Ltd., secretary; and Neal Yokota of Stryker Weiner & Yokota Public Relations Inc., immediate past chairman.

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Police, Fire, Courts



By Star-Bulletin staff

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Raids on Puna houses result in 4 arrests

Big Island police raided two Puna homes yesterday and arrested four men on drug and other counts.

At a home on Coconut Drive, police arrested 26-year-old Christopher Wagoner, who was charged with second-degree escape after he allegedly attempted to run after being arrested and handcuffed.

He is being held in the Hilo police cellblock on the escape charge and two unrelated warrants, and his bail has been set at $13,250.

A 41-year-old man was also arrested at the home for promotion of a dangerous drug and possession of drug paraphernalia.

He was released pending further investigation.

Motorcyclist dies from March injuries

A 47-year-old Kona man died Sunday at the Queen's Medical Center of injuries he sustained in a motorcycle accident last month in Kailua-Kona.

The man was identified at Thomas Wermager of Kailua-Kona.

The accident happened about noon March 7 when the victim, who was riding a 1988 Harley-Davidson motorcycle north on Queen Kaahumanu Highway, rear-ended a vehicle stopped in traffic a half-mile north of the 98-mile marker.

The driver of the vehicle, a 47-year-old Kailua-Kona woman, was not injured.

Wermager was taken to the Kona Community Hospital and later flown to Queen's in critical condition. He was pronounced dead at 10:15 p.m. Sunday.

The victim was not wearing a helmet, and police said speed and alcohol were not factors in the crash. The traffic fatality is the 14th on the Big Island so far this year, compared with 17 at the same time in 2004.

Man found dead made bail 2 days earlier

A man found dead Sunday in heavy vegetation behind Prince Kuhio Plaza on the Big Island has been identified as 40-year-old Dennis Kreis of Kailua-Kona.

Police said his body showed no obvious signs of injury.

Kreis was found about 6 a.m. behind the Longs Drug Store on Railroad Avenue. Just two days earlier, he had been released from the Hawaii Community Correctional Center in Hilo after posting bail. He had been arrested March 28 on drug charges.

Police are asking that anyone with information on the case call Detective Robert Wagner of the East Hawaii Criminal Investigation Section at 961-2380 or the police nonemergency number at 935-3311. Anonymous calls can be made to CrimeStoppers at 961-8300 in Hilo or 329-8181 in Kona.

Man with mental ills still missing on Big Isle

Big Island police have renewed their request for the public's help in finding a 45-year-old mentally handicapped man missing for a week.

The man, Daniel Desimone, left his Nanawale Estates home in Puna about 10 a.m. Tuesday and was last seen in Pahoa. He is 5 feet 8 inches tall, about 170 pounds and clean-shaven, with blue eyes, balding brown hair and a fair complexion, police said.

Anyone with information on Desimone is asked to call his guardian at 965-7318 or the police nonemergency number at 935-3311.

NORTH SHORE

Passenger drives off during suspect's arrest

An auto theft suspect drove off Sunday while officers were arresting his friend, police said.

Police stopped a man, 19, who was allegedly driving a stolen vehicle near Kamehameha Highway and Kahalewai Place in Haleiwa about 9 a.m. As officers were arresting him, a 21-year-old man sitting in the passenger seat climbed behind the steering wheel and drove off, police said.

Police later caught the second suspect along Crozier Drive and also recovered stolen property from the vehicle, which was suspected to be from a possible crime spree. Police arrested the first suspect for investigation of auto theft, and the second suspect for investigation of auto theft, driving without a license and several other offenses.

WINDWARD OAHU

Police arrest man, 27, sleeping in stolen car

Police arrested a 27-year-old man after they discovered him sleeping in a stolen car at Kailua Beach Park about 5 a.m. Sunday.

Patrol units found the car with its headlights on and, after running a check on the license plate number, learned that the car had been reported stolen.

Man critically injured in motorcycle accident

A 52-year-old man was critically injured late Sunday in a motorcycle crash on Kanapuu Street in Kailua.

Police said the accident happened about 9:45 p.m. when the man, driving a black 2002 Harley-Davidson, lost control on a bend near Ponopono Place and hit a sign, pole and rock wall. The Kailua man was taken to the Queen's Medical Center with head injuries.

The man was not wearing a helmet, police said. It is unknown if speed or alcohol were factors in the crash.

WAIKIKI

Nightclub dance leads to purse confrontation

Police arrested a 22-year-old woman for allegedly stealing another woman's purse while she was on the dance floor at a Waikiki club early Saturday.

About 1:15 a.m. the 24-year-old victim spotted the suspect rummaging through her purse along Kalakaua Avenue and asked her to give it back, police said. The suspect allegedly slapped the victim, then fled on foot. Police later caught the suspect and arrested her for investigation of second-degree robbery.

HONOLULU

Woman wakes up nude with bruise on head

A 27-year-old woman was found nude and with head injuries after drinking at a Kalihi nightclub Friday morning.

Police said she was found in a business area with a head contusion about 9 a.m. and that the last thing she remembered was arguing with her boyfriend about 2 a.m. The victim did not remember how she got to the business area, and her boyfriend had not been located. Police were investigating the case as a sexual assault and robbery.