Police Beat
Advertiser Staff
Man who set car on fire arraigned
The man who stopped traffic downtown Friday with his fire-setting and spray-painting spree was arraigned today on charges of first-degree reckless endangering.
Richard Graham Elstner, 49, is being held in lieu of $20,000 bail. The charge is a Class C felony punishable by a maximum five years' imprisonment.
Elstner, a Makaloa Street resident, stopped his Mercedes-Benz at about 4:30 p.m. in the intersection of Bishop and King streets and set it on fire. He then took extinguishers and paint from his trunk and sprayed the doorway and lobby of the Bank of Hawaii.
The incident — and the aggressive response by police and fire crews, anxious because of security threats — snarled traffic for hours. The extinguisher residue was checked for anthrax, and his backpack, filled with personal belongings, was examined.
Senior tourist robbed in Waikiki
A 65-year-old woman tourist was beaten and robbed last night on Paoakalani Street in Waikiki after a man grabbed her as she approached the Lemon Street intersection.
Police said the woman, from California, was walking mauka on Paoakalani at 10:54 p.m. when the robber grabbed her and punched her in the face several times, breaking her nose. He grabbed her handbag and ran toward the Honolulu Zoo. The woman was treated at The Queen's Medical Center for her injuries.
'Aiea fire caused by unattended candle
For the second time in a week, an unattended candle caused a fire in 'Aiea, this time to an apartment at the Park at Pearl Ridge.
The call came in at about 6:35 p.m. yesterday, when a candle in the bathroom set fire to towels and clothes, said fire department spokesman Capt. Richard Soo.
A similar problem caused the Nov. 21 blaze in 'Aiea Heights that gutted part of a family's home. Soo urged during the holiday season to use candles with caution.
The apartment fire was extinguished by a downstairs neighbor, he said. It caused $500 in damages to the structure and $100 to the contents. The neighbor was treated for smoke inhalation.
