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Man appears in court in sumotori's death

Kealiiokalani Meheula: He allegedly told an Okana Road resident that he stabbed Kipapa

The man who police say killed a retired sumo wrestler in Kahaluu on Monday made his first appearance in Honolulu District Court yesterday to face a charge of second-degree murder.

District Court Judge Yvonne R. Shinmura scheduled a Monday preliminary hearing for Kealiiokalani Meheula, 30, who is charged in the stabbing death of 31-year-old Percy Kipapa.

Police said Meheula's mother found Kipapa slumped over the steering wheel of a parked pickup truck Monday night on Okana Road with stab wounds to his chest and stomach. Kipapa was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to a police affidavit, a woman who lives in an Okana Road house told a detective that Meheula walked up her driveway with a knife in his hand and told her he had stabbed Kipapa, but he disappeared before police arrived on the scene.

Less than an hour later, Meheula appeared at the Kaneohe Fire Station with what appeared to be a stab wound to his right thigh. Meheula was taken to Castle Medical Center for treatment.

Moon names Ching Family Court judge

Chief Justice Ronald T.Y. Moon has appointed Jennifer L. Ching as a District Family Court judge on Oahu.

If the state Senate confirms Ching's appointment, she will replace the retiring Judge Allene Suemori.

As a city deputy prosecuting attorney, Ching supervises the Juvenile Offender Team, which is responsible for reviewing and prosecuting all juvenile cases on Oahu.

Lawyer is suspended for ethics violations

The Hawaii Supreme Court has suspended California and Hawaii attorney Catherine M. Barrad's license to practice law Monday for allegedly violating multiple provisions of the state's ethical rules.

The 51-year-old lawyer cannot accept any retainers, clients or legal matters for at least three months, effective June 15. The Supreme Court must reinstate her eligibility to practice law in Hawaii.

A Supreme Court news release said Barrad failed to supervise her staff, communicate and respond to her client, return her client's file and attend to a client's divorce case.

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Police, Fire, Courts



By Star-Bulletin staff

LEEWARD OAHU

SUV driver critically injured in crash that shuts H-1

A three-car crash that left one driver critically injured shut down part of the H-1 freeway eastbound for five hours yesterday.

Police said a car traveling eastbound on the H-1 near the Kaahumanu overpass veered, striking a second car.

That car collided into a sport utility vehicle, which lost control and rolled over, police said.

The SUV driver was taken by ambulance in critical condition to the Queen's Medical Center.

The accident occurred about 2:16 p.m., causing police to shut down three to four lanes while traffic investigators conducted an investigation.

The freeway was reopened about 7 p.m.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Maui accident victim found to be drunk

WAILUKU » The woman driving a car that went off a 150-foot cliff on Maui, killing herself and a teenager, was legally drunk, Maui police Lt. Jeffrey Tanoue said.

Tanoue said according to a toxicology test received recently, 34-year-old Denise Callo's blood alcohol was 0.272, more than three times the legal limit of 0.08.

"That may have been a contributing factor to the accident," Tanoue said.

Tanoue said that based on an interview with the surviving teenage girl, police believe Callo may have been trying to make a turn when the car turned over sideways and went down a cliff at a Lahaina pali overlook on April 13.

Callo's friend James Makekau, the front-seat passenger, also died in the crash. But a 16-year-old girl and her 3-month-old infant survived.

Bicyclist killed by hit-and-run driver

WAILUKU » A 51-year-old man was killed early yesterday when the bicycle he was riding was stuck by a sport utility vehicle in south Maui.

The bicyclist was riding north on South Kihei Road near Kanani Road when he was struck by the vehicle traveling in the same direction at 12:08 a.m., police Lt. Lawrence Becraft said.

The 28-year-old male driver of the vehicle fled the scene but was later arrested and released pending further investigation, police said.

The bicyclist was pronounced dead at Maui Memorial Medical Center at 1:05 a.m.

The name of the victim has not been released pending notification of family.

The death is the fifth traffic fatality in Maui County, compared to six for the same period last year.