Police Beat
Advertiser Staff
Pedestrian fatally struck
A 67-year-old Makakilo pedestrian died in Kapolei Tuesday night after she was struck by a pickup truck while crossing the street near Kapolei 16 Theaters, police said.
She was trying to cross Kamokila Boulevard near Nau Place, makai-bound, and was not in a crosswalk when she was hit by a gray 1987 Dodge Ram 50 at 7 p.m., police said.
The driver, a Kane'ohe man, 56, was Honolulu-bound and changing lanes.
The woman was taken to St. Francis Medical Center-West in critical condition and pronounced dead at 7:39 p.m., police said.
Plea expected from ex-officer
A former Honolulu Police lieutenant is expected to enter a plea today in a theft case.
Felito Laboy Jr., 57, has been charged with one count of theft for allegedly failing to work during hours for which he was paid. He is appearing before Circuit Judge Richard Perkins.
Laboy was charged Monday by the attorney general with second-degree theft, which carries a prison term of up to five years.
Laboy was assigned to the Airport Detail at the Honolulu Airport when he was paid for work that he did not do, according to the complaint filed by the attorney general's office.
The alleged theft occurred between Feb. 16, 1999, and July 28, 1999, the complaint said. The charge was filed after the state Department of Transportation and attorney general's office conducted an investigation.
Teen arrested in stabbing
Police arrested a 19-year-old man in the stabbing of another man in a Waikiki restaurant Tuesday night.
Police said the attack occurred at 9:30 p.m. when a 19-year-old man was chased into Mos Burger, 2184 Kalakaua Ave., and assaulted by three men.
One assailant stabbed him in the chest with a pocket knife, then ran down Kalakaua, police said. A witness followed, and a man was later arrested on suspicion of second-degree attempted murder.
The injured man was taken to the Queen's Medical Center in critical condition, police said.
Husband ruled fit for trial
Circuit Judge Reynaldo Graulty has ruled that a man who was committed to the Hawai'i State Hospital shortly after the shotgun slaying of his estranged wife in 1992 is mentally fit and may stand trial on the charges against him.
After a series of recent court hearings, Graulty sided with at least two mental health experts who said they believed that William J. Kotis was faking a mental illness to avoid being prosecuted.
Kotis spent much of the time at those hearings rocking back and forth, with the hood of his sweatshirt pulled down over his brow, mumbling to himself or groaning.
Graulty ordered Kotis to stand trial on charges of second-degree murder, kidnapping and first-degree terroristic threatening in connection with the death of his wife, Lynn Kotis.
