Police Beat
Advertiser Staff
Filipino seaman's death under investigation
City medical examiners yesterday were called to investigate a Jan. 2 offshore accident that claimed the life of a merchant seaman from the Philippines.
The 39-year-old seaman was on duty at about 2:20 p.m. aboard the Island Oasis, a Japanese-owned merchant vessel 1,400 miles north-northwest of the Islands, said Mark Desmarais, an attorney representing the ship's insurance carrier.
The ship was enroute to Honolulu to pick up a load of scrap metal, he said. The victim and other crewmen were preparing the cargo holds when the accident happened, Desmarais said. While trying to stabilize a hook used to move cargo from one hold to another, he said, the victim went too close to the guard rail, fell and struck the rail before he fell into the water.
Crewmates recovered him from the water and performed CPR but were unable to get a pulse, he added.
The189-meter vessel, built in 1999, is of Panamanian registry but is crewed by Philippines nationals, Desmarais said. The victim was married with children, he said. His identity was withheld
Authorities probe post office break-in
Postal authorities are investigating whether any mail was stolen from the airport post office after a cut in a fence near a temporary storage area was discovered last week.
The breach was found when employees were taking down a tent sheltering mail near the facility's Aolele Street fence, said postal inspector Kathryn Derwey.
That revealed a hole in the fence that could not bee seen from the street side because of a hibiscus hedge, she added, so it's unclear how long it had been there.
"It could have been someone cutting it for a shortcut to the bus stop," Derwey said. "We didn't find any rifled mail indicating that anything had been stolen."
The mail stored there had been parcels bound for Guam. Postal inspectors in Guam have been notified that some of its parcels had been at risk and to be alerted to any complaints of missing mail.
Arrest made in November shooting
A Kapahulu man was arrested yesterday in connection with a November shooting that cost a 26-year-old woman her left eye.
Police arrested the suspect, 32, at 10:20 a.m. at his Brokaw Street home, where the shooting occurred Nov. 10. He was released pending further investigation.
Patrol officers were called to the scene at 8:40 p.m. The victim, accompanied by her brother and others, had come to the home to collect on a loan, and an argument broke out.
When the suspect came from the back of the house with a shotgun, police said, the visitors fled to their car. The suspect then shot into the car, and the woman was struck in her left eye, police said.
The suspect is being investigated on attempted murder and firearms charges.
New Year's Eve crash victim identified
The victim of a New Year's Eve fatal accident on the H-1 has been identified as Carol F. Smith, 60, of Redmond, Ore.
Smith, critically injured in the 10:10 p.m. accident near the Punahou offramp, died Friday night at The Queen's Medical Center.
She was riding in a van that was attempting to change lanes, swerved, collided with a 1989 Toyota van and overturned.
Five-day test drive ends in arrest
Police arrested a Kina'u Street man, 27, after he took a car on a test drive that lasted for five days.
The suspect took the car, a Chevy Astro van, from a car lot at about noon Jan. 2. The van was spotted at about 2:50 p.m. yesterday in a lot opposite 1340 Young St. Police arrested the suspect after he was seen driving away in the van.
Public's help sought in New Year's Day arson
Arson detectives are seeking help in locating the person who burglarized a Pearl City home and set it on fire on New Year's Day.
The owner of the home on Pu'u Alani Way locked it early that morning. Firefighters responded to an alarm at about 11:20 a.m. after explosions were heard. The blaze destroyed the home; damage was estimated at $230,000.
Witnesses said they saw a brown or blue-gray, four-door station wagon, possibly a Nissan or Toyota, parked in the carport before the first explosion. Its male driver was described as Japanese, in his 40s, with a medium build and brown complexion. He was wearing a brown baseball cap, a tank top, jeans shorts and slippers.
Anyone with information may call police Detective James Anderson, 529-3436. Anonymous tips can be phoned in to CrimeStoppers at 955-8300, or *CRIME on a cellular phone.
Police search for robber on bicycle
A bicyclist in his 20s is being sought in connection with a robbery early Sunday in the parking lot of the Daiei Kaheka Street store.
Police said the victim, a 20-year-old store employee, had arrived for work at 5:12 a.m. when the cyclist stopped him in the lot and asked him for money.
When the victim refused, the man got off his bike and threatened him with a knife. The employee ran into the store and summoned police.
The cyclist is described as a Filipino male.
