Police Beat
Advertiser Staff
Navy family of four homeless after fire
No one was injured in a fire that destroyed a single-story Navy home and left a family of four homeless yesterday.
Seven federal and city fire companies responded to the 3:37 p.m. alarm at 3169 Arizona Road and found the empty house engulfed in flames, said Federal Fire Department Assistant Chief Jack Lee Jr. It was under control at 3:54 p.m., Lee said.
A Navy sailor, deployed on the USS Hopper, his wife and two children lived at the house, said friend Cindy Lineberry. The sailor works in engineering and specializes in gas turbines, she said.
A preliminary investigation showed the heaviest damage on a wall between the kitchen and living room, Lee said. Damage estimates are pending.
Senior enlisted Navy sailors lived in the area where the fire started, said Navy spokeswoman Agnes Tauyan. The Navy was assisting the family with emergency shelter.
Tom Morgan, one of the first people to see the fire, said he and another person rushed toward the burning house, jumped a fence, and tried to see if anyone was home. Morgan said he saw no one inside and immediately jumped back over the fence when the home's windows exploded.
"In a matter of 30 seconds, the house was fully engulfed," said Morgan, a Navy senior chief.
Rescue crews find missing diver
Rescue crews found the body of a Hilo man who was reported missing Sunday while free diving with friends just north of Manuka Bay in Kona.
Police identified the victim as Dayton Kalani Goodman, 19.
Firefighters and police officers from Ka'u responded to a 12:25 p.m. emergency call and learned that Goodman's four male companions had lost sight of him.
Fire rescue crews found Goodman in 40 feet of water. He was flown to Kona Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 3:17 p.m.
Woman in hospital after car collision
A 41-year-old woman was in critical condition after the rental car she was riding in collided with a truck yesterday near the H-1 Freeway eastbound off-ramp to the airport.
Police closed the off-ramp shortly before 6 a.m. during the investigation by state sheriff deputies.
The rental car was making a left onto Aolele Street from Paiea Street when it was struck by a truck coming off the off-ramp onto Aolele, said sheriff's administrator John Borges.
Four people were taken to The Queen's Medical Center, Borges said, but hospital staff said only one patient, the woman, was admitted.
Gunman sought in Waialua robbery
Police are seeking a gunman who robbed a Waialua store Sunday.
A man entered Otake Store at 4:22 p.m., pointed a black semiautomatic handgun at the clerk and demanded money. The robber took an undisclosed amount of cash and fled in a blue 1987 Honda two-door sedan.
Police said patrols in Wahiawa saw a car matching the description, but the driver refused to stop and managed to get away after a collision with the pursuing police car. The car was later found abandoned near Leeward Community College.
The robber is described as about 5 feet 2 inches tall and 120 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a dark jacket, long pants and a blue ski cap.
Police arrest two in assault near school
Police arrested two men Saturday night on suspicion of robbery and assault in an incident near Kalihi Uka Elementary School.
The incident began about 6:30 p.m. when the victim, a 37-year-old man, was walking through the campus, near Nihi Street, police said.
The victim told police that the suspects asked him and a companion for marijuana and when they said they had none, the suspects followed them into the intersection of Nihi and Laumaile streets.
The thieves, ages 18 and 21, then assaulted the victim and took his shoulder bag, according to police. The man's companion said he tried to help him, but the older thief punched him in the face.
The suspects fled back onto the campus but were arrested after the victim flagged down an officer.
Girl's condition still critical after crash
A 16-year-old Moloka'i girl remained in critical condition at The Queen's Medical Center yesterday, while a 16-year-old Maui girl was upgraded to stable condition following a car crash Sunday on Moloka'i.
The girls were among six people hurt when a stolen 2000 Chevy Impala driven by an 18-year-old girl veered off the road, climbed an embankment and flipped upside down.
