Neighbors wary after fatal shootings
By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer
The makeshift memorial for 26-year-old Guyan Nuuhiwa, who died Nov. 1, features basketballs signed by his friends.
Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser
Neighbors say 49-year-old Greg Morishima was dropping off a bag of mangoes at a friend's house on the evening of Oct. 26 when he was shot.
In Pearl City, farewell messages were left for Guyan Nuuhiwa, also known as "Guylan" to his friends.
Less than three miles separates the scenes of the killings.
The shootings, which took place in the parking lot of Longs Drug Store in Pearl City and on Pamoho Place in 'Aiea, have rattled area residents.
"It scared us; I'm upset that it is so close to my neighborhood," said Shirley Tanaka, a schoolteacher and Pearl City resident. "I will think twice about going down there (Longs) late at night."
Police say they have identified a link between the shootings but have not disclosed details because they are still searching for suspects. Four men have been arrested in connection with the killings.
Morishima was shot several times by three masked gunmen at about 9:20 p.m. He was pronounced dead about two hours later at The Queen's Medical Center.
Six days later, Nuuhiwa and 24-year-old Winston Domingo were shot in front of the 24-hour Longs Drug Store in Pearl City after an argument with three men at the shopping center. Domingo survived and is recovering.
Domingo and Nuuhiwa graduated from 'Aiea High School; Nuuhiwa graduated in 1995 and Domingo in 1997.
Three men have been arrested in connection with Morishima's murder.
Jason Rumbawa, 23, Micah Kanahele, 22, and Rosalino B. Ramos, 22 were arrested Thursday and booked on suspicion of second-degree murder, robbery and firearms violations.
A fourth man, Kevin Harris, 26, was arrested on suspicion of robbery in connection with the Morishima case.
Kanahele also has been charged with Nuuhiwa's murder. Ramos and Harris were charged with first-degree robbery in the same case. All three men are accused of taking marijuana, police said.
At the time of his arrest, Kanahele was charged with possession of ice after police found small quantities of the drug along with a pipe in a nylon bag.
"One can draw some conclusions not knowing exactly what it is," said 'Aiea resident William Clark, a retired HPD deputy chief and former head of the Hawai'i High Intensity Drug Trafficking task force. "They are putting innocent people in danger; I get frustrated with it. It's bad enough that they committed a crime, but when they have no regard for anyone else in the community, it's sad."
Yesterday, heart-shaped balloons flapped noisily in the wind on a fence fronting Kamehameha Highway, a few feet from where Nuuhiwa was killed.
Dried blood and yellow circles, made to mark fallen shell casings, sprinkled the ground. Two laminated pictures of a smiling Nuuhiwa were tied to the fence above three basketballs, each autographed with farewell sentiments from friends.
Aida Chock, an 'Aiea resident, said she used to see Nuuhiwa around the area. Chock was in the parking lot the night he was killed. She said she always sees young kids hanging out in the parking lot late on Friday and Saturday nights.
"Things happen, they get out of hand and when they're under the influence, they don't care," Chock said.
About 2 1/2 miles away, Pamoho Place is just off Moanalua Road, a mile or so behind the north endzone of Aloha Stadium.
The garage at the home where Morishima was shot was crowded with cars yesterday. That's typical of a house that holds more than four separate tenants, neighbors say.
Luwayne Kamali-i, whose grandchildren live in the house, said people in the neighborhood said Morishima dropped off a bag of mangoes at the house the night he was shot.
She said she saw a vehicle idling down the street before the shooting. The car turned into the home's garage, she said.
After that, she heard what she thought were firecrackers.
Before Morishima's death, police had raided the Pamoho Place home on several occasions on suspicion of drug activity.
"We always said that something was going to happen there, and sure enough, it did," Kamali-i said.
Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8110.
