Brush fire below homes in Pacific Palisades

Honolulu firefighters battled a brush fire last night that started below several homes on Ahakapu Street in Pacific Palisades.

The fire was about 50 feet from homes, but is not a threat to the houses, said fire Capt. Earle Kealoha.

About 15 firefighters from three companies stretched lines between several residences and were able to stop the progress of the fire and were attempting to control it at about 10 p.m.

Kealoha said the area is moist from recent rains and the fire does not appear to have consumed a large area.

Motorcyclist remains in critical condition

A 22-year-old Honolulu man remained in critical condition last night after crashing his motorcycle Friday on Moanalua Freeway.

Police said the man was driving Koko Head bound on Moanalua Freeway near Aiea Access Road about 3:55 p.m. when he struck the right guardrail, then overturned.

The man was ejected from the bike and came to rest in the right lane. Police said he was wearing a helmet.

Manslaughter sentencing scheduled

HILO » A Big Island man convicted of manslaughter is to be sentenced March 9.

A jury convicted 37-year-old Robert Eain Grant last week for the 2008 death of 47-year-old Daniel Martina.

Two witnesses testified Grant and Martina got into a confrontation when Grant offered beers to them but not to Martina in the parking lot of the Pahoa Community Center.

Grant testified he kicked Martina in the chest when Martina swore at him and threw three punches.

The force of the kick knocked Martina to the ground, and he hit his head on the asphalt.

Martina died six days later at the Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu of a severe brain injury caused by a skull fracture.

Grant's defense at trial was that the kick was a justified use of force.

Skeletal human hand washes up

A Honolulu police officer made an unusual discovery yesterday during a routine check at Diamond Head lookout: skeletal remains of a human hand.

At about 12:15 a.m., the officer was at the lookout and noticed what appeared to be skeletal remains of a human hand wash up on shore, police said.

The investigation is ongoing.

Man arrested for attempted murder

Police arrested a 27-year-old man for allegedly attempting to kill a 29-year-old man on Christmas in Kaneohe.

About 11 a.m., the man, of no local address, got into a dispute with a family member and stabbed him with a “;dangerous instrument,”; police said.

The victim went to the hospital with a laceration, but was released from the hospital, police said.

Officers arrested the suspect at Mealele Street on suspicion of second-degree attempted murder.

Teen allegedly stabs relative

Police arrested an 18-year-old man who stabbed a 51-year-old relative in the back Friday during an argument in Makakilo.

Police said the teenager grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed the older man about 12:35 p.m., causing a superficial wound. The teen was arrested at Elele Street on suspicion of second-degree assault.

3 masked men sought in robbery

Police are looking for three masked men who entered a Wahiawa home early Christmas morning and robbed a 44-year-old woman at gunpoint.

The men, each armed with a firearm, entered the home about 12:15 a.m. and demanded money before fleeing in a white vehicle with some cash, police said.

Officers later found the vehicle abandoned.

Injured hiker rescued near falls

Honolulu firefighters rescued an injured hiker off the Maunawili Falls Trail yesterday afternoon.

The fire department received a call about 12:22 p.m. from friends of a woman in her 20s who complained of pain on her left side and back, said fire department spokesman Capt. Earle Kealoha.

A fire rescue crew hiked up the trail and brought the victim to a section of the trail where the fire department helicopter airlifted her to a waiting ambulance at Maunawili Park at 1:15 p.m.

Big Island brush fire finished off

Big Island firefighters mopped up hot spots yesterday at a 25-acre brush fire burning at the 6,000-foot elevation about five miles above Highway 11 in South Kona.

The brush fire was reported at 10:13 a.m. yesterday at the Yee Hop Ranch. The fire was burning in brush and grass flanked on three sides by old lava flows, according to the Big Island fire department.

Police seek man in alleged rape

Police are looking for a man in his 20s who allegedly sexually assaulted a 23-year-old woman in Ewa Beach early Thursday morning after a social gathering.

Police said the woman went to bed and awoke to find an acquaintance forcibly removing her clothes and engaging in unwanted sex about 1:15 a.m., police said.

A friend confronted the man, and he fled before police arrived.