Isle events focus on impact of HIV/AIDS on women

The first annual National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on Friday will be observed in Hawaii by several organizations that have joined to raise awareness about the increasing impact of the infection on women and girls.

Among events planned that day:

A Women's Health Fair will be held at 10 a.m. at the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center.

Free health screenings and education will be offered on various women's health issues, including HIV/AIDS information and testing, family planning, pregnancy and substance abuse.

For more information, call Iris Kaohe, 696-1505 or e-mail ikaohe@wcchc.com.

Community leaders, people with HIV infection and other speakers will participate in an awareness celebration from 6 to 8 p.m. at the First Unitarian Church, 2500 Pali Highway.

A free dinner, entertainment, and education about women and girls and HIV/AIDS will be provided, as well as free condoms, HIV testing and counseling.

Sponsors include West Oahu Hope for a Cure Foundation; the Office on Women's Health; Coalition for a Drug Free Hawaii; Hepatitis Prevention, Education, Treatment & Support Network of Hawaii; Just a Little Nova; Legal Aid Society of Hawaii; Life Foundation; Na Mele Nei Concerts; Native Books Hawaii-Na Mea Hawaii; and Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, Bisexuals, Transgender (PFLAG) Oahu.

For more information, call Carolyn Martinez Golojuch, 672-9050, or e-mail golojuchc@hawaii.rr.com.

Sponsors are sought for Jarrett fundraiser

The Jarrett Middle School Foundation is seeking sponsors for its annual fundraising dinner March 18 at the Japanese Cultural Center.

Seventy percent of the students attending the Palolo Valley School come from low-income families, according to Principal Gerald Teramae. The school also is in dire need of money for programs, equipment and supplies, he said.

Tables of 10 range from $400 to $2,000. Individual tickets are $40. Dinner, entertainment and a silent auction will be offered from 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. in the Manoa Grand Ballroom.

Sponsorships and donations should be made payable to Jarrett Middle School Foundation, 1903 Palolo Ave., Honolulu, HI 96816. For information, call Gayle Kutaka at 239-6125.

COURTS

20-year term required in no-contest assault

A 25-year-old man pleaded no contest yesterday to kidnapping a woman at the Manoa Innovation Center last year and sexually assaulting her.

Shannon K. Kalahiki was arrested shortly after the March 23 attack and had been held on $75,000 bail. The victim had just started her car at the center when a man reached through an open window, unlocked her front passenger door and kidnapped her.

The attacker had a knife and ordered her to drive to the back of Manoa School, where he sexually assaulted her. He also forced her to withdraw $100 from an automated teller machine at Manoa Marketplace.

Kalahiki pleaded no contest yesterday to sexual assault in the first degree, sexual assault in the third degree, robbery in the first degree and kidnapping, according to Jim Fulton, spokesman for the Prosecutor's Office. Kalahiki faces a mandatory 20 years in prison. Sentencing is set for July 11.

Police, Fire, Courts

Star-Bulletin staff

WINDWARD OAHU

On-board GPS device leads police to missing car

Police arrested an 18-year-old man in an auto theft case thanks to an "On Star" device in the car that was allegedly stolen.

Police said that at about 6:15 a.m. Monday a 63-year-old man reported his car stolen from his home.

He also called "On Star," a service that uses a global positioning satellite system to locate a vehicle that has been stolen.

Using the GPS, "On Star" tracked the vehicle to an intersection in Kaaawa, police said.

"On Star" relayed information on the location of the car directly to the Honolulu police dispatch office, according to police. Officers then found the car.

Police arrested the suspect after witnesses identified him as the driver. He was arrested for investigation of auto theft and an outstanding grand jury warrant.

HONOLULU

Home Depot worker arrested in theft case

Police arrested a cashier at the Iwilei Home Depot who allegedly used a company computer to steal more than $300 worth of merchandise.

Police said the theft was uncovered during an internal investigation of the store.

They arrested the employee, a 24-year-old woman, about 5:30 p.m. Monday at the store at 421 Alakawa St. for investigation of second-degree theft.

The woman was also arrested for investigation of computer fraud in the first degree because she used a computerized cash register to facilitate the theft.

The woman was later released pending investigation.

Teens arrested in mo-ped theft

Police arrested two teenagers who allegedly stole a mo-ped in Makiki yesterday. Police said that at about 1:40 a.m., a 51-year-old man had just finished work and noticed that his mo-ped was missing from the bicycle rack where he had parked it.

He then noticed two people carrying the mo-ped across the street, police said.

The man flagged down a police officer who chased and caught one of the suspects, police said. The officer then found the second suspect and caught him as well, police said. Both suspects, an 18-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy, were arrested for investigation of second-degree theft.

WAIKIKI

Police arrest man seen with Japanese tourist

Police arrested a 45-year-old man who was wanted on four outstanding warrants and was also the subject of a CrimeStoppers bulletin about a missing woman.

Police arrested Eldon Cox about 6 p.m. Saturday on Waikiki Beach.

In a CrimeStoppers bulletin last week, police were looking for Kanako Hibino, 22, of Japan, who was reported missing after she failed to return to Japan on a scheduled flight. Police said then that she might be with Cox, whom they described as a con man known to take advantage of Asian women.

Both were spotted Wednesday in the television lounge of the Hale Manoa dormitory on the University of Hawaii campus. Campus security chased Cox, but he escaped. Hibino was not harmed.

Cox was arrested without incident.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Keaau man dies after Saddle Road crash

A 41-year-old Keaau man died Monday from injuries he sustained in a two-vehicle collision on Saddle Road, just west of the 35-mile marker.

The victim was identified as Jack H. Mae, of Keaau.

South Hilo patrol officers said Mae was traveling west on Saddle Road in a 1990 Toyota two-door sedan at about 4:25 p.m. when he crossed the center line at the top of a hill and collided with a 2001 Toyota pickup truck traveling east.

Mae was flown to the Hilo Medical Center in a U.S. Army helicopter from the Pohakuloa Training Area. He was pronounced dead at 5:22 p.m.

The driver of the pickup truck, a 36-year-old man from Captain Cook, and his female passenger, 28, of Hilo, were transported to the Hilo Medical Center by police. The driver complained of back pain and injury to his right foot. The passenger had minor injuries.

It was the eighth traffic fatality on the Big Island this year, compared with nine at the same time last year.