Hawai'i briefs
Advertiser Staff
Attempted murder charged in Lihu'e
LIHU'E, Kaua'i — Gerard Silva, who was wrestled to the ground Thursday after threatening police officers, was arraigned yesterday in Lihu'e District Court.
Silva is charged with first-degree attempted murder, two counts of terroristic threatening and a weapons count. Bail was set at $500,000.
Silva, 45, of Kalaheo, arrived at the main police station in Lihu'e at noon Thursday carrying a loaded .22-caliber rifle.
A witness, bail bonding agent Vicki Williams of Bail Hawai'i, was sitting outside the station. She said Silva asked bystanders to move to safety, then said he intended to shoot a police officer.
Police Chief George Freitas said Silva pointed the weapon at two officers before officer Randy Chong Tim knocked him to the ground. The rifle fired once as the men fell, its slug knocking a hole in the concrete wall of the police station.
No one was injured. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.
"Officer Randy Chong Tim displayed, in my estimation, a significant amount of discipline and self-control in a very hazardous, high-stress, high-adrenaline situation," Freitas said.
Man found shot near Waialua bar
Police have opened an investigation into attempted murder after a man was found shot in chest in front a Waialua bar Thursday night.
The man was found bleeding in front of the Sugar Bar & Pizza Garden, 67-069 Kealohanui St., at about 10:30 p.m. and airlifted to the Queen's Medical Center, police said.
Arson suspected in Kalihi fire
Police suspect that arson led to a fire that destroyed a Kalihi home and left eight people homeless. A family member who had been evicted from the house has been arrested.
The 40-year-old man was arrested Thursday at the scene of the fire, 1739B Kamohoali'i St., on suspicion of first-degree criminal property damage and a court violation, police said. Charges are pending, police said.
Fire officials said the fire originated in an open storage area under the living room of the house.
Police said children smelled smoke about 4:30 a.m. and alerted their grandmother. The children's father discovered that the back of the house was on fire and yelled for everyone to get out.
Fire officials estimated that the fire caused $250,000 in damage.
Firefighters help hiker in 'Aiea
Firefighters yesterday rescued a woman who sustained a broken her ankle while hiking with her son deep inside the 'Aiea Loop Trail.
Rescue crews received the call at about 10 a.m. and marched about 2 1/2 miles inside the trail and carried the woman out, said acting Capt. Guy Seto-Mook.
The woman had tripped on a rootl, Seto-Mook said. She was taken to Tripler Army Medical Center for treatment.
Suspect indicted in Kahala slaying
Henry U. Lagmay was indicted by an O'ahu grand jury Thursday on charges of second-degree murder and first-degree burglary in the stabbing of his former girlfriend Monday in her Kahala townhouse.
Police responded to a call reporting an argument at the Keanu Street residence and found Isabelle Yim-Mortier, 38, fatally stabbed in the neck, according to a police affidavit.
Lagmay, 32, turned himself in to police later in the day. He is being held in lieu of $250,000 bond.
Antifreeze spills on Maui street
KAHULUI, Maui — A main intersection in Kahului was closed for most of the day yesterday because of an antifreeze spill.
County spokeswoman Karlynn Kawahara said the incident occurred around 11:30 a.m. when an Island Movers vehicle inadvertently spilled five to 10 gallons of Direx 4L on Alamaha Street. Maui police closed roads leading to the Wakea Avenue intersection.
Island Movers hired Unitek Solvent Services to clean up the mess.
Restaurateur remains in prison
A federal court ruled yesterday that a Honolulu restaurateur may remain in the United States while fighting deportation to his native Thailand.
However, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Chai Chaowasaree's request to be released from the O'ahu Community Correctional Center.
Chaowasaree, owner of Chai's Island Bistro at Aloha Tower Marketplace and Singha Thai Cuisine in Waikiki, has been held at OCCC since Feb. 13.
Chaowasaree has been battling deportation since 1991, when the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service ruled that his marriage to a U.S. citizen was a sham.
When he left the country in January 2000 to visit his ailing father in Thailand, the INS declared that Chaowasaree had abandoned his appeal and ordered him deported.
The appeals court ordered legal briefs in the case to be filed by May 16.
