Owner accused of burning house

HONOKOHAU, Maui » A man burned his house to the ground after arguing with his wife, Maui police allege.

The fire Tuesday left the 34-year-old man in jail and eight family members and relatives homeless, although a hotel has provided temporary shelter.

Harry Jaramillo has been charged with first-degree arson and was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail.

Police Lt. Don Simpson said damage was estimated at $150,000 to the two-bedroom, two-loft house and $50,000 to its contents.

The house is in the remote Honokohau Valley in West Maui, where there are no fire hydrants. Firefighters had to bring in tanker crews and a helicopter to douse the blaze.

Neighbors said Jaramillo owned the house on leased land and lived with his wife, four children, a grandmother and two children from another family member.

The six children are ages 6 to 13, according to Red Cross caseworkers.

The Red Cross said Kaanapali Beach Hotel has provided lodging for the family at a greatly discounted rate.

Simpson said the wife had left the house and that none of the children was home when the fire began Tuesday morning.

Simpson said the fire could have burned nearby homes and spread to other neighboring areas.

“;It could have swept the whole valley,”; he said.

HONOLULU

2 sought in attack near UH campus

Police and University of Hawaii security are looking for two men suspected of robbing and assaulting a man Sunday evening.

At about 11:15 p.m. the victim was walking along University Avenue and was assaulted in the construction area next to the Music Department, according to a UH security alert.

One of the suspects was described as about 5 feet 2 inches tall, 140 pounds, with a fair complexion. He had black crewcut hair, no shirt, white shorts and slippers. He had a gray shirt in his hand.

The other suspect was described as 5 feet 8 inches tall, 160 pounds, with a slender build. He was wearing no shirt but had a white shirt in his hand, and white shorts. He also had a black crewcut.

Both men are believed to be in their 20s. Anyone with information is asked to call police or campus security at 956-6911.

5 held in alleged threat to woman

Prosecutors charged five men who allegedly used knives to threaten a woman in Palolo Valley shortly after midnight Tuesday.

The suspects were charged Wednesday with second-degree terroristic threatening, and bail for each was set at $1,000. They are BJ Chosa, 19, M-Son Faruo, 27, Ansor Ham, 20, Iosinori Joseph, 22, and Mader Mamok, 18. The group allegedly confronted the woman in front of her apartment at 12:15 a.m. Tuesday yelling and waving kitchen knives at her. The woman went back inside and called police. They were all arrested on suspicion of first-degree terroristic threatening.