Police Beat
Advertiser Staff
Missing hiker walks to safety
A 44-year-old Texas man, who was reported missing while on a hike Wednesday, made his way out from the trail at 7:30 a.m. yesterday and caught the bus back to his Waikiki hotel.
Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. Kenison Tejada said the man was not injured and walked out from the trail at Lyon Arboretum in Manoa Valley.
Firefighters searched for the man from 6:40 p.m. Wednesday to 1 a.m. yesterday and were planning to resume searching when they learned the man was safe, Tejada said.
Kalihi pedestrian critically injured
A 44-year-old 'Aiea man was critically injured Wednesday night when he was hit by a pickup truck while jaywalking across Dillingham Boulevard near Alakawa Street.
The pedestrian, who was wearing dark-blue clothing and crossing the street in rainy weather, suffered head injuries and is at The Queen's Medical Center, according to police.
The driver of the pickup truck was not injured.
Two charged in drugs case
Brendan D. Hill, 23, and Robert Bacher, 22, were charged Wednesday with multiple drug offenses stemming from a six-month police undercover operation that led to Tuesday's 6:35 a.m. raid on an 18th-floor Ala Wai Plaza unit at 500 University Ave.
A police report filed at District Court yesterday said police found more than 16 grams of powdered cocaine in Hill's bedroom and 2.1 pounds of marijuana in Bacher's room. Bail is $50,000 for Hill and $35,000 for Bacher.
Police also seized nearly $15,000 cash and a car for forfeiture.
The investigation began Nov. 24 on a complaint that Hill was dealing cocaine and marijuana in Waikiki and near the University of Hawai'i campus, the report said. On April 1, police received a written complaint from Iolani School officials about suspected drug dealing near the canoe housing area and park adjacent to Ala Wai School.
Hill and Bacher are also charged with promoting drugs within 1,000 feet of a public school.
Boy, 16, charged in kidnapping
A 16-year-old Kalihi boy was charged Wednesday as a juvenile with kidnapping for allegedly mugging a woman jogging Tuesday night at Ala Moana Park. The 57-year-old jogger was not injured, thanks to two people who responded to her screams for help and scared off the attacker.
The boy had a hearing yesterday at Family Court.
Man freed on bail after car collision
A 34-year-old man charged early Wednesday with drunken driving after allegedly causing a head-on collision on Farrington Highway near Honokai Hale was released after posting $600 bail. Erik Shimizu is scheduled to appear at District Court in 'Ewa on June 23.
Traffic investigators, however, may seek to pull back the DUI charge and include it as part of a second-degree negligent driving case against Shimizu, police said.
Two people were taken to The Queen's Medical Center in guarded and stable conditions after their pickup truck was hit by Shimizu's speeding sport utility vehicle, which was in the wrong lane, police said.
Probe to resume in Waikiki fatality
Police vehicular homicide investigators expect to talk soon to the 62-year-old Palolo man who was driving a pickup truck that plowed into a group of pedestrians in Waikiki on May 26, killing one person and injuring six others.
Joseph Puuohau, whose driver's license had been revoked after its expiration on Dec. 1, 2000, has agreed to talk with investigators at the main police station upon his release from The Queen's Medical Center, Sgt. Lorenzo Ridela said yesterday.
Police had no information about Puuohau's medical condition but he is expected to be released from the hospital this week, Ridela said.
Puuohau has not been arrested for the Waikiki incident, in which 24-year-old Hikari Ishiyama of Japan was killed. Puuohau does have a court appearance pending for an April 25 citation for driving without a license.
Puna man held in shooting case
HILO, Hawai'i — New leads in a shooting that took place nearly 2 1/2 years ago led to the arrest Wednesday of a 48-year-old Puna man for attempted murder.
Police said the shooting occurred Jan. 7, 2002, when the driver of a sedan traveling on the Kea'au-Pahoa Road in the Kapoho area was shot by the driver of a van that had pulled alongside the car. The victim, who was 45 at the time, was wounded in the left arm, and a second shot grazed his chest.
Since the suspect's arrest this week, detectives executed a search warrant at a Hawaiian Beaches home and recovered a .357-caliber handgun believed to have been used in the shooting.
Man arrested in copter incident
HILO, Hawai'i — A Puna man who said he was celebrating the funeral of President Reagan was arrested for allegedly launching two projectiles at a Hawai'i Air National Guard helicopter taking part in a marijuana eradication operation this week.
The 46-year-old suspect was arrested for reckless endangering and could face federal charges, police said.
The incident occurred while the helicopter was conducting reconnaissance over the Leilani Estates subdivision in Puna. The residence from where the projectiles were launched was identified and Puna patrol officers arrested the man after finding aerial fireworks nearby. The suspect was being held yesterday in the Hilo police cellblock.
During the eradication effort Wednesday and yesterday, police uprooted 1,999 marijuana plants in Puna and South Hilo.
