Hawai'i briefs
Advertiser Staff
Suspect arrested in Kailua robbery
One of three men suspected of breaking into a Kailua home early Thursday and assaulting two residents was arrested and charged yesterday.
Police said Richard L. Johnson, 34, was arrested at a Honolulu hotel in connection with the home invasion robbery on the 600 block of Maluniu Avenue. Johnson was charged with one count each of first-degree robbery, first-degree assault and first degree burglary. His bail was set at $45,000.
A second man also was arrested, but he was released yesterday pending investigation.
Police said three men dressed in black and wearing ski masks forced their way into the home about 1:30 a.m. Thursday. A 48-year-old man and a woman, 47, were hit on the head, possibly with a pipe, police said.
The man refused treatment; the woman was taken to Castle Medical Center, where she was found to have bleeding in the brain, police said.
Money was taken from a safe, which the man was forced to open, police said.
Hawaiian Air flight to Samoa aborted
A Hawaiian Airlines flight bound for American Samoa had to return to Honolulu International Airport yesterday after a problem was spotted on one of its tires, officials said.
Flight 465 landed safely at 5:22 p.m., about an hour after leaving the gate, said Transportation Department spokesman Scott Ishikawa.
No injuries were reported. The 155 passengers were put on a flight that left at 6:52 p.m., said Patrick Dugan, a spokesman for Hawaiian.
Duke Bainum campaign fined
The campaign of Honolulu mayoral candidate Duke Bainum has paid a $100 fine to the state Campaign Spending Commission after it was cited for a recent radio advertisement.
The commission had ordered the Bainum campaign to pull the ad and pay a fine because the ad did not contain disclaimer language saying who paid for the ad and whether it was endorsed by the Bainum campaign.
The campaign contended the ad was designed as a public service announcement to get people to register to vote.
Public service announcements are protected by the First Amendment as free speech and are not regulated by the Campaign Spending Commission as long as they do not endorse a candidate or urge voters to support a candidate.
