Police Beat
Advertiser Staff
Man struck by speeding car dies
A 57-year-old man struck by a speeding car Friday night in Hilo, Hawai'i, died Sunday at The Queen's Medical Center.
Big Island police identified the man as Steven Estevan-Vargas of Hilo. Police said Estevan-Vargas was crossing at the intersection of Kino'ole and Kukuau streets in rainy weather at about 9 p.m. when he was hit by a 1996 Honda driven by a 26-year-old Hilo man.
Estevan-Vargas was not in a crosswalk, police said.
Speed and alcohol appear to be contributing factors and the driver was arrested on suspicion of negligent homicide.
Two youth escapees still at large
One of three boys who escaped Friday from the Hawai'i Youth Correctional Facility was captured about three hours later. The two other escapees are still at large.
The three youths were attending a tech-ed program at Olomana School on the HYCF grounds when they fled at 10:15 a.m. Two custodians saw the youths scale a fence and run into a wooded area. One of the escapees, 16, was arrested at about 1 p.m. in the forest area.
Escapee caught in Pearlridge
Sundance Cambra, who escaped from O'ahu Community Correctional Center on Feb. 13, was captured Saturday in Pearlridge after a traffic stop.
Cambra, 23, was recognized by officers who made the traffic stop at Pua'ilima Place at 1:30 p.m. Cambra has been charged with escape and auto theft and is being held in lieu of $30,000 bail.
Two men charged in park assault
Police charged two men Sunday in connection with the beating of a man Saturday morning at Ma'ili Beach Park.
Micaiah McCullah, 23, and Lea Alailefaleula, 21, are charged with second-degree assault and are being held in lieu of $30,000 and $20,000 bail, respectively. A third man, 18, arrested at Ma'ili Beach Park has been released pending further investigation.
The beating victim, 25, is in serious condition at The Queen's Medical Center, police said.
The two men who were charged were among a group of five men who allegedly came to the park at about 4:30 a.m. and confronted the victim, who was asleep in his car. Police said the victim was kicked, punched and repeatedly struck on the head with wooden crutches that the men took from a woman who tried to intervene.
Police said the five men were also involved in another incident at Makaha surfing beach that was reported at 3:45 a.m. A 16-year-old boy was struck in the face with a beer bottle and then kicked in the face by the group, police said.
Help sought in Kohala school theft
HILO, Hawai'i — Police are asking for help in solving the theft of $3,000 from Kohala Middle School in Hala'ula.
Police were notified Friday that a manila envelope containing $3,000 in $20 and $50 bills had been taken from a safe in the clerk's office between Dec. 26 and Jan. 9. The money had been collected for the school yearbook and for other school activities.
Anyone with information about the theft should call officer Lawrence Kobayashi of the North Kohala Patrol at (808) 889-6540, the police nonemergency number at (808) 933-3311, or CrimeStoppers at (808) 961-8300 in Hilo or (808) 329-8181 in Kona.
Propane leak cause of Papa'ikou fire
HILO, Hawai'i — Firefighters said a leak in a propane tank caused a fire Sunday that did an estimated $20,000 damage to the rear of a home in Papa'ikou.
Firefighters arrived at the two-story home at Ka'ie'ie Road at about 8:30 a.m. Sunday to find a lean-to and the back wall of the house on fire, and the occupant of the home with first-and second-degree burns to his left hand.
The fire was extinguished in four minutes. The occupant was treated at the scene, fire officials said.
Police investigating shooting in Kona
KEALAKEHE, Kona, Hawai'i — Police said they arrested a Kona woman who shot a 21-year-old Honaunau man who was arguing with his 39-year-old girlfriend.
The woman, 47, was released while detectives continue to investigate the shooting, which was reported at 12:50 a.m. Saturday.
The man was treated at Kona Community Hospital for a gunshot wound in the upper leg and released, said Kona detective Nancy Haitsuka.
Escapee caught in Pearlridge
Sundance Cambra, who escaped from O'ahu Community Correctional Center on Feb. 13, was captured Saturday in Pearlridge after a traffic stop.
Cambra, 23, was recognized by officers who made the traffic stop at Pua'ilima Place at 1:30 p.m. Cambra has been charged with escape and auto theft and is being held in lieu of $30,000 bail.
