Police Beat
Police charge man in wife's slaying
Big Island police yesterday charged a 38-year-old Pepe'ekeo man with second-degree murder in the death of his wife.
Warlito C. Gorospe is being held in the Hilo police cellblock without bail and is scheduled to be arraigned in Hilo district court this afternoon.
He is charged with the slaying of Gloria Gorospe, 27, whose body was found Tuesday night at a home on Old Onomea Road in Pepe'ekeo. The two had been contemplating a divorce and had taken out divorce papers.
An autopsy completed yesterday determined that Gloria Gorospe died from "blunt force trauma to the head."
Driver of McCully hit-run at large
Police are looking for the driver of a pickup truck that ran a stop sign in McCully Wednesday night and struck another truck, injuring four men.
The driver fled after the accident, which occurred about 10:20 p.m. at the intersection of Citron and Wiliwili streets.
The truck, a blue 2000 Toyota Tacoma, had been spotted earlier that night outside a known drug house in Waikiki, police said.
Police determined the truck had been stolen and arrested the three passengers that the driver left behind in the truck on suspicion of car theft.
The stolen truck, speeding mauka on Wiliwili Street, passed a stop sign and hit a 1993 green Toyota pickup truck with four occupants.
All four men from the green truck were taken to The Queen's Medical Center; one, 23, was released after treatment. One man was listed in guarded condition. A 22-year-old man remained in critical condition yesterday, and a 28-year-old man was listed in fair condition.
The occupants of the stolen truck were not seriously injured, police said.
Big Island police hunt escapee, 32
Big Island police are looking for a 32-year-old man who escaped Wednesday from the Hale Nani Correctional Facility in Hilo.
Floyd Chapman III was reported missing after an 11:40 a.m. head count at the facility.
Chapman is described as Caucasian, 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing about 140 pounds with a slim build. He has brown hair, brown eyes and a mustache. He was last seen wearing a blue facility T-shirt with the words "Hale Nani" on the back, blue jeans and white shoes.
Anyone with information can call the police non-emergency number at (808) 935-3311. Anonymous tips can be filed with Crime Stoppers, (808) 961-8300 in Hilo or (808) 329-8181 in Kona.
Maui police seek pharmacy bandit
HA'IKU, Maui — A would-be robber was unsuccessful in his attempt to obtain the prescription painkiller OxyContin from the Ha'iku Pharmacy Wednesday, police said.
A man wearing a ski mask entered the store in the Ha'iku Marketplace about 4 p.m. and demanded the drug, a powerful painkiller that has become popular among drug abusers because of its relatively low cost compared to heroin. When the store employee delayed in getting it for him, the man fled, said Lt. Glenn Cuomo.
He said the man is not believed to be the same robber who stole OxyContin at gunpoint from the Kahului Safeway pharmacy March 28.
The man involved in the Ha'iku case was described as 5 feet 9, 135 pounds with short black hair. He wore a black T-shirt and dark jeans.
Anyone with information on the case should call Maui detectives at 244-6425, the police non-emergency number at 244-6400, or Maui Crime Stoppers at 242-6966.
