Police Beat
Advertiser Staff
Man, 54, killed in Kahuku shooting
A 54-year-old man died yesterday after he was shot on a farm in Kahuku.
Police arrested a 53-year-old man after the 9:30 a.m. shooting. He was being held last night and may face murder charges. The suspect told police that he accidentally shot the man.
The shooting occurred at a farm on Kamehameha Highway. Police said the suspect drove the wounded man to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Worker arrested in office shooting
KAHULUI, Maui — A Maui Pineapple Co. employee was arrested yesterday after firing a pistol in the company's Kahului office. No one was injured.
Alfred Martins Jr., 38, of Wailuku was charged with terroristic threatening, reckless endangering and a firearms charge. He was released after posting $7,000 bail.
Martins entered the company's Wakea Street office shortly before 7 a.m. to discuss a personnel matter and pointed a .357 Magnum revolver at himself, said police Lt. Glenn Cuomo of the Criminal Investigation Division.
When employees ran out of the building, he fired one shot into the ceiling. He was arrested at 7:20 a.m. without incident, Cuomo said.
Martins appears in Maui District Court Aug. 7.
Hawaiian center assesses losses
A holiday-weekend burglary at the Center for Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa left staff assessing yesterday how to recover from the theft of computers and camera equipment worth an estimated $33,000.
Most of the equipment had been delivered only about a month ago, said Lilikala Kame'eleihiwa, the center's director. She said the burglary was discovered by staffers who came to work Saturday.
Marks around a second-floor window showed it had been forced open, she said. Police dusted for fingerprints but have no suspects, Kame'eleihiwa said.
Much of the equipment was purchased to make center courses available on the Internet, she said, adding that some of the center's fiscal records also were stolen.
Maui teen killed in single-car crash
WAILEA, Maui — An 18-year-old Kahului man died in a one-car crash early yesterday on Wailea Ala Nui Road.
Police said Ryan H. Racadio was driving a 1992 Chevy Lumina north at about 12:35 a.m. when he lost control of the car and hit a tree near the Kea Lani Resort.
He was pronounced dead at Maui Memorial Medical Center.
Driver who dragged officer still on loose
Big Island police are looking for a 21-year-old Puna man after a community policing officer was injured after being dragged behind a car.
Police said the officer stopped the man for driving recklessly around 7 p.m. Thursday during a function at the Pahoa Community Center. The officer was leaning on the car when the man suddenly accelerated, catching the officer's arm in the window.
The officer was dragged about 30 feet before he was able to free his arm, police said. He was treated by medics at the Pahoa Fire Station for abrasions to his arms, back and legs.
The driver is described by police as approximately 6 feet tall, about 160 pounds with a slim build.
Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 961-8300 in Hilo or 329-8181 in Kona.
