Arrest may offer clues in murder
By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer
Police arrested a 41-year-old man and searched an 'Aiea house Thursday in a case related to Christopher Aki, the man awaiting trial on charges that he killed 11-year-old Kahealani Indreginal.
The 'Aiea Elementary School student disappeared from her home Dec. 10 and was found dead three days later off the 'Aiea Loop Trail. Aki, fiancee to Kahealani's half sister, was charged with murder and has been held at the O'ahu Community Correctional Center.
Authorities have been unable to find the girl's missing gold bracelets and the pipe they believe was used to bludgeon her to death.
The search warrant and arrest of the 41-year-old are not connected to the murder case, which remains under investigation, said Honolulu's top homicide detective Lt. Bill Kato.
Police said they found crystal methamphetamine after searching a house on Kauhale Street where the man was living.
Kato declined to say what else was recovered.
Police booking records show the man was arrested on suspicion of drug violations, being a felon in possession of firearms and possessing automatic weapons with prohibited silencers.
Police and paroling authority records show the man was convicted in 1979 of burglary and two counts of rape, and sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in prison. He was paroled in 1990, but violated parole and was returned to custody several times before completing his 20-year sentence in 1999.
At least four adults and some children were living in the house when police served the search warrant in a firearms case against Aki, Kato said at a news conference yesterday.
He said the firearms charge was old. Before Kahealani's death, police had stopped Aki, who was found to be driving a stolen car. A gun was found in the seat beside him, police said.
The car owner later decided against bringing charges, Kato said, so the car theft charge was dropped. But the charge for the firearm, not registered to Aki, remained on the books, Kato said. Last week, prosecutors decided last week to reopen the case.
Kato said "quite a bit" of evidence was collected on the warrant. "Right now we're going through it, piece by piece," he said.
Police continue to get new leads in the murder case, Kato said.
Reach Karen Blakeman at 535-2430 or kblakeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.
Correction: A previous version of this story reported that police said a 41-year-old man who was arrested Thursday during the search of an 'Aiea house was a relative of Christopher Aki, who is awaiting trial on charges that he killed 11-year-old Kahealani Indreginal. Aki's family says the man arrested is not related to them.
