Police Beat
Advertiser Staff
Death in park possibly homicide
Police began investigating an apparent homicide yesterday after the body of an unidentified man was found beneath a banyan tree at Ala Moana Park.
Employees at the park saw the victim, a man in his late 20s or early 30s, lying on the ground near the bathrooms on the park's ewa side about 6:15 a.m., but they assumed he was a sleeping homeless man, said homicide Lt. Bill Kato.
When he hadn't moved after a few hours, employees called Emergency Medical Service crews, who declared the man dead at about 9:30 a.m.
"EMS noticed blood on his face, probably caused by a blunt instrument," he said. "We're still calling it a suspicious unattended death, but it may be reclassified as a homicide after an autopsy."
Police continue search for boy
Big Island police are looking for a 13-year-old boy who has been missing from his home in Kea'au, Puna, since March 22.
He was identified as James Balai Jr. Balai is of Filipino-Hawaiian ancestry and is described as 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighing about 150 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.
Call officer Nelson Acob of the Puna Patrol at (808) 966-5835, or the police nonemergency number, (808) 935-3311. Or call CrimeStoppers at (808) 961-8300 in Hilo or (808) 329-8181 in Kona.
Care urged after mailbox thefts
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Honolulu police CrimeStoppers program are warning residents about a rash of thefts from mailboxes at various O'ahu locations.
Reports of thefts have come in from several communities, and two 19-year-old men were arrested in connection with cases in Kapolei, police said.
Justin Knutson and John Tharp, have been charged in federal court with mail theft, a felony offense, said police Detective Letha DeCaires.
Other communities that have been hit include Kailua, Makakilo, 'Ewa Beach, Pacific Palisades and Hawai'i Kai.
"Cash is a target, and checks, and if you lose credit card information, you leave yourselves wide open for identity theft," DeCaires said.
Authorities urge the public to deposit mail containing money, checks or personal information in a postal collection box, at the post office or in the hands of a carrier.
Mail thefts should be reported to the inspection service at 432-3790.
