Police Beat

Advertiser Staff

An elderly woman was killed in a collision shortly after 5 a.m. yesterday on South King Street near Pumehana Street. Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser

An elderly woman was killed yesterday in McCully when her car slammed into a garbage truck.

The crash took place shortly after 5 a.m. on the 1900 block of South King Street, near Pumehana Street, when the woman's Toyota Tercel collided with the truck.

Fire officials said the woman was in her 80s. Three men on the garbage truck were not injured, the officials said.

Police closed all but one lane of South King Street to investigate. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

So far this year, there have been 19 traffic fatalities on O'ahu, compared with 14 for the same period last year.

Victim identified in Kaukonahua accident

A man killed in a one-car crash Monday night has been identified as Derrick Smith.

Smith, 39, was killed along Kaukonahua Road, which police describe as a danger zone.

There have been four traffic fatalities along Kaukonahua Road during a 47-day period from Feb. 21 through last night.

The four, along with another motorist killed April 6 on nearby Wilikina Drive, account for 26 percent of O'ahu's 19 traffic fatalities this year.

"It's definitely a danger zone," said Maj. William Gulledge, commander of the Honolulu Police Department's Wahiawa patrol district, of the narrow, winding stretch between Wahiawa and Waialua.

Gulledge has stepped up speeding and drunken driving enforcement in the area, but safety precautions make it difficult to post officers along Kaukonahua Road. "The road is narrow, so we can't pull anyone over," Gulledge said.

Kaimuki bank robber still at large

Police yesterday continued to search for a man who robbed the Kaimuki branch of Central Pacific Bank inside Times Supermarket on Monday.

Police said the robber entered the bank at 3221 Wai‘alae Ave. at 4:30 p.m. and told the teller he had a weapon. He placed his backpack on the counter, directed that money be placed inside, and fled.

Police described the man as approximately 40 to 50 years old, about 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall, and 160 to 180 pounds. He had blond to gray messy, receding hair, with brown eyes, a mustache and a goatee. He wore a light-colored, long-sleeved dress shirt and carried a maroon backpack. He was also described as having an “unkempt” appearance and as possibly being homeless. Call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300.

Man charged in exposure incident

Police have charged a 29-year-old man in connection with a misdemeanor sexual assault case at the Fern playground area of Kalihi in February and March.

Police arrested Blake Choo on Monday and charged him with six counts of fourth-degree sexual assault. Bail was set at $2,000.

Police said the suspect exposed himself to girls.

Homeless man charged in stabbing

Police have charged a 40-year-old homeless man accused of stabbing his ex-girlfriend Monday and fleeing police by running into the ocean.

Allan Yeager was charged with assault and terroristic threatening. Bail was set at $50,000.

Police said Yeager confronted his 39-year-old former girlfriend Monday morning at Laulualei Beach Park. He stabbed her in the right temple area and punched her in the face, police said.

He fled into the ocean, but was apprehended.

Kailua bombing suspect arrested

Police have arrested a 33-year-old Kailua man in connection with two bombings in Chinatown and Kailua last month.
Evidence suggested the bombs were made by the same person. Witnesses implicated the man. No one was hurt in the bombings.

On March 19, a bomb exploded in the stairwell of the parking garage at Harbor Village Apartments on River Street in Honolulu. On March 26, a bomb exploded outside a classroom at the Kailua Church of Christ and damaged parts of the building.

Police also are investigating an explosion that damaged a toilet yesterday at the Kapolei Recreation Center, 91-1049 Kama‘aha Ave., shortly before 12:27 a.m.

Parking attendant admits guilt in theft

A state parking attendant has pleaded guilty to second-degree theft for pocketing about $2,000 in Circuit Court parking lot fees between January and February, prosecutors said.

As part of a plea agreement, Richard Berasis, 44, will have to repay the stolen money, Deputy Attorney General Christopher Young said. He will be sentenced in June.

Prosecutors will not seek any jail time for Berasis, who cooperated with the investigation.