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Federal charges for alleged dealer

A federal grand jury has indicted an alleged Hawaii drug dealer found with crystal methamphetamine and more than $1 million in cash.

Gordon Lee Cox II, a convicted felon, was indicted April 14 for allegedly distributing and possessing crystal methamphetamine between 2002 and Feb. 25, 2005.

Cox was found in possession of $1,023,313 in cash, which the federal government seized.

The government also seized a 2001 Chevy Camaro and a 1998 two-door Ford Mustang, which were allegedly purchased with proceeds from illegal drug sales.

Cox allegedly bought the Camaro for $16,000 in cash, and the Mustang for $9,000 in cash.

Cox has been convicted of at least three prior felony drug charges. He is in federal custody.

Committee OKs anti-coqui funding

A bill that appropriates $300,000 to help counties statewide decrease coqui frog populations passed a legislative conference committee yesterday and is headed for a vote by the House and Senate.

House Bill 1301 appropriates $100,000 each for Maui and Hawaii counties and $50,000 each for Oahu and Kauai counties to help eradicate coqui frogs.

The Senate Committee on Energy, Environment and International Affairs unanimously approved the bill yesterday.

Sen. J. Kalani English, committee chairman, said the bill will especially help communities in the islands where the frogs have only recently taken up residence.

"We have a window, in the next few months, to eradicate the coqui frog on Maui before it's too late," English said. "We can get at the core population and then eliminate the smaller ones, so this comes in the nick of time."

The coqui frog problem in Hawaii is worst on the Big Island, where there are hundreds of infestations.

The bill's approval comes in the same week that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved the use of hydrated lime to kill coqui frogs in the islands during the next three years.

Lime costs about one-tenth as much as the next-best coqui killer approved to date, but federal, state and county government agencies could not use it without EPA authorization.

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» 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 Mauna Lani Charity Cup golf tournament awarded the Friends of the Children's Justice Center in Hilo $1,002 for winning the tournament. 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 Office of Hawaiian Affairs has approved a $22,250 grant to Kokua Legal Services Inc. to provide technical assistance to native Hawaiians and other residents of the Hauiki Homes public housing project to purchase their own homes.

» The McInerny Foundation has awarded $250,000 to the Palolo Chinese Home's campaign for reconstruction of buildings on its 15-acre campus.

» The REALTORS Association of Maui Inc. has donated more than $17,000 for the Maui Food Bank. The association's food drive sponsors included Tommy Bahama, Outback Steakhouse, Manana Garage, Stella Blues Cafe, Mama's Fish House and Lloyd and Celia Canty.

Police, Fire, Courts



By Star-Bulletin staff

WAIKIKI
Man drowns off Diamond Head Beach

A 41-year-old Waikiki man who was believed to have been surfing off Diamond Head Beach died yesterday.

Surfers found the man floating face down off the beach sometime before 3:22 p.m. and tried to resuscitate him.

An Emergency Medical Services supervisor said the man was taken in extremely critical condition to Straub Hospital, where he died, according to police.

A surfboard was found and presumably belonged to the man, a fire official said.

WINDWARD OAHU
Woman is accused of assault in mall lot

Police arrested a 34-year-old Kaneohe woman who allegedly assaulted another woman during a traffic incident in the parking lot of the Temple Valley Shopping Center.

Police said the victim, 49, was trying to leave the parking lot about 7 p.m. on March 3 but could not because the lane was partially blocked by two vans parked side by side. The suspect was apparently inside one of the vans.

Police said the victim waited until the suspect moved her van to the right and then proceeded forward.

The suspect then cut back in front of the victim and stopped her van, then walked over to the victim's car and assaulted her, police said.

The victim got out of her car to grab her glasses, which flew out the window during the assault, and was threatened by the suspect, police said. The victim got back into her car and was assaulted by the suspect two more times, according to police.

The suspect was later identified in a photo lineup and turned herself in to police Wednesday morning. Police arrested her for investigation of two counts of unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle, and second-degree terroristic threatening.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Cabin burns after reported explosion

An unoccupied cabin in Kokee, Kauai, burned to the ground Tuesday shortly after a neighbor reported hearing an explosion coming from the cabin.

Firefighters from the Kauai Fire Department and the Pacific Missile Range Facility Crash Fire Unit responded to the call and extinguished the fire.

The owner of the cabin, who lives in California, was contacted by the Kauai Police Department. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.