Neighbor Island briefs

Advertiser Staff and News Services

BIG ISLAND

Man arrested in shooting deaths

HILO, Hawai'i — Police said yesterday they have arrested an 18-year-old Puna man in connection with the deaths of two men whose badly decomposed bodies were found Thursday in the Fern Acres subdivision.

The Puna man, who had a Hawaiian Acres address, had previously been questioned as a witness in the case. He was being held in Kona and had not been charged last night.

Hawaiian Acres and Fern Acres are adjoining subdivisions in rural Puna.

The shooting victims, presumed by police to be Cassidy Toole and Wesley Alan Matheson, both 20, will not be positively identified until after dental records are compared this week.

Both men were from the Mainland.

An autopsy Friday concluded both had been shot in the head.

Fourteen vice officers and detectives continued working the murder investigation yesterday. The men were last seen May 8, hitchhiking at Kioloka'a, near South Point, after Toole's car ran into a ditch.

Hilo man faces assault charges

HILO, Hawai'i — A Hilo man who faces charges of trying to sexually assault a girl in Puna was held yesterday in lieu of $85,000 bail.

Police said Anthony Duane Ramos, 21, was arrested during a "rave" party Thursday night in Kalapana. A friend of the girl who saw a man break into her car and attack her summoned help, leading to the arrest, said Detective Glenn Uehana.

Ramos is expected to be arraigned tomorrow in District Court.

KAUA'I

Night work set on Kuhio Hwy.

LIHU'E, Kaua'i — Drivers in the Kapa'a area can expect delays at night along Kuhio Highway this week.

Crews from Henkels & McCoy contractors will be installing underground fiberoptic cable starting tonight.

At least one lane will remain open in each direction, but parking on the mauka side of the highway will be prohibited in specific areas.

The cable is being installed for Sandwich Isles Communications, which will provide advanced telecommunications services to Hawaiian Homes developments.