Police Beat
Advertiser Staff
Big Isle police seek runaway from court
HILO, Hawai'i — Big Island police are looking for a Puna man who walked away from Hilo Circuit Court yesterday after he was sentenced to five years in prison.
Ronald J. Soares
Police said Ronald J. Soares, 45, of Hawaiian Beaches, was last seen leaving from the Hamakua entrance of the State Building on Aupuni Street in Hilo at about 9:30 a.m. Soares had just been resentenced for unlawful imprisonment and abuse of a family or household member.
Soares reported to court as ordered and was given a five-year term by Judge Terence Yoshioka, officials said. The judge ordered Soares to wait for a sheriff's deputy to take him into custody, but he left when the bailiff stepped outside the courtroom to seek a deputy.
Soares is 5 feet 10 and weighs about 230 pounds. He has black hair, brown eyes and a medium complexion. He has tattoos on both forearms, shoulders and chest. Call the police nonemergency number at (808) 935-3311.
Kalihi crime site sold, bulldozed
A familiar crime site to Kalihi police for about 20 years is gone. A house at 686 Bannister St., where police said there was drug and gambling activity, was bulldozed yesterday.
The house was sold before it could be claimed for criminal forfeiture. The new owner plans to put up a warehouse, police said.
Makiki man charged in raid
A 45-year-old Makiki man arrested Friday night in a raid at 399 N. King St. has been charged with promotion of a dangerous drug. Bail for David Harris is $75,000.
Kalihi Crime Reduction Unit officers seized three illegal video gambling machines and cash in the 9:18 p.m. raid. The drug charge stems from ice discovered in a bag allegedly belonging to Harris.
Man robs bank in Liliha
First Hawaiian Bank's Liliha branch was robbed of an undisclosed amount of cash Friday by a man who handed a teller a note stating he had a weapon. The robbery at 1420 Liliha St. was reported at 5:50 p.m.
Police seeking Laumaka escapee
Police are looking for Gordon Morse, who failed to return Friday to the Laumaka Work Furlough Program. Morse, 32, has six felony convictions that include armed robbery, burglary and auto theft. He is known to frequent the Wai'anae area, police said.
Anyone with information on Morse can call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300 or *CRIME on a cellular phone.
