Neighbor Island briefs
Advertiser Staff and News Services
KAUA'I
Police identify Kalalau victim
LIHU'E, Kaua'i — A man found dead on Kalalau beach March 6 has been identified as Rudolph E. Watson, 37, of Virginia.
Detective Lt. Bill Ching said police were able to confirm his identity after tracking down a check he cashed with a local bank. Police learned from an acquaintance that he had used a particular bank, and obtained a copy of the check.
Watson died of internal bleeding from wounds the police and a forensic pathologist determined were self-inflicted. Ching said the man had hiked into the remote valley barefoot and without a camping permit the day before he was found.
BIG ISLAND
Man arrested in Big Isle burglary
HILO, Hawai'i — A 36-year-old Big Island man was arrested and charged with burglary and other crimes related to a break-in at an Orchidland Estates home last week.
A 40-year-old woman told police she was awakened by a burglar Wednesday afternoon. The intruder tied her up and then took items from the home, she said.
Frank Eblacas was arrested shortly before noon Saturday and charged with kidnapping, auto theft and first-degree burglary.
1,800 Ka'u, Puna homes lose power
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Hawai'i — More than 1,800 Puna and Ka'u homes were affected by a power failure yesterday.
Hawai'i Electric Light Co. said the failure occurred at 10:40 a.m. from a substation failure.
The rural area from North and South Kopua Road to Namakani Paio in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park was without power for 84 minutes to 3ý hours, depending on location.
Big Isle homes damaged in fires
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Hawai'i — A Puna subdivision home burned to the ground yesterday in Eden Roc Estates.
Big Island fire officials said the cause of the blaze on Palainui Avenue and Punahele Street was unknown. Seven firefighting units answered the 10:32 a.m. alarm and by the time the first reached the scene six minutes later, the split-level wooden structure was engulfed in flames.
The residence was owned and occupied by Richard Gibson Jr., fire officials said. The loss was estimated at $90,000.
On Sunday, a home under construction in Ka'u's Hawaiian Ocean View Estates suffered $75,000 damage in a fire. The fire at a residence on Lotus Blossom Drive owned by Chloe Goldsmith began a minute before midnight. The last firefighting unit didn't leave the scene until 6 a.m.
Fire Capt. Clint Coloma said three vehicles were destroyed, a van was damaged and a small storage unit next to the home was burned to the ground. The cause remains under investigation.
MAUI
Man sentenced in gambling case
A Maui businessman who participated in a major sports bookmaking operation run largely out of the Maui district office of the Department of Accounting and General Services was sentenced yesterday to four months in prison and four months of home detention.
In addition, federal Judge Alan Kay ordered Sunao Takamiya, 72, to pay a $15,000 fine. Takamiya, former president of Maui Beverage & Supply, pleaded guilty earlier to charges of conspiracy to conduct an illegal gambling business and failure to pay federal taxes associated with a gambling operation.
Takamiya was one of seven men indicted in connection with operation of the sports betting operation, which officials said was headed by Francis "Moody" Kahoohalahala, a former Maui police officer who later worked as a repairs and maintenance assistant at the Maui district office.
Kahoohalahala was sentenced in December to 18 months in prison for his role in the betting operation.
