HAWAI'I BRIEFS
Man, 28, arrested in elder's death
Advertiser Staff
A 28-year-old man has been arrested in Pearl City in connection with the death of a 60-year-old man who was found in Kamehameha Heights early Saturday morning with head injuries.
A city emergency medical services ambulance crew picked the man up about 3:20 a.m. and took him to a hospital, where he died a few hours later.
Police initially classified the death as an unattended death pending autopsy results.
An autopsy showed the man died of blunt-force hits to the head and that an attempt to strangle him also may have contributed to his death.
The city medical examiner ruled that the death was a homicide, and police on Monday arrested a man at a Ho'oli Circle address in Pearl City on suspicion of second-degree murder. The suspect was an acquaintance of the victim, police said.
HONOLULU
Body found in water near Pier 17
The body of a man was recovered in waters off Pier 17 in Honolulu Harbor yesterday morning.
Police said there were no obvious signs of foul play and classified the case as an unattended death. An autopsy will be done.
The man's name was not released last night. Police said they believe he is a fisherman in his 40s.
At about 9:45 a.m. yesterday, a longline fishing vessel was returning to Honolulu Harbor when a crew member spotted a body floating in the water. Police were called and a fire department crew retrieved the body.
Meanwhile, a man who was watching the retrieval effort on another fishing vessel notified harbor police that a member of his crew had been missing since Sunday. The man said he recognized the clothing on the dead man's body, police said.
The man told police that several crew members went ashore Sunday and one of the men did not return. But the man had not been reported missing, police said.
PEARL HARBOR
Former shipyard worker sentenced
A former shipyard worker at Pearl Harbor was sentenced to three years in federal prison for selling more than $200,000 in submarine and ship parts to scrap-metal dealers for $529.
Chief U.S. District Judge David Ezra on Monday ordered Carl Graham Roberts Jr., 49, to begin serving his sentence and to repay the government the $529 he made from the sales.
Roberts was the first of six former Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard workers who pleaded guilty to the unauthorized sale of Navy property to face jail time. Three have been placed on probation and the others are awaiting sentencing.
Federal agents posing as scrap-metal dealers uncovered the theft and sale of the parts, which included valves for Navy warships. Federal prosecutors said Roberts and two other shipyard workers were using money from the sale to buy crystal methamphetamine.
In one sale, a $20,000 valve was sold as scrap for $100, according to the FBI and Naval Criminal Investigative Services.
BIG ISLAND
100-acre fire closes highway
A 100-acre brush fire below Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway in South Kohala forced Big Island officials to close the highway and divert traffic away from the blaze yesterday.
No homes were threatened, but heavy smoke crossing the highway created hazardous driving conditions, officials said. The highway was closed at 1:20 p.m. between the Kawaihae Road junction and the Waikoloa Road junction.
Fire officials worked through the afternoon to complete fire breaks, and the blaze was under control by 5 p.m. But the road remained closed at that time, said Assistant Police Chief Ron Nakamichi.
LANA'I
Senate panel OKs harbor work
A key U.S. Senate subcommittee yesterday approved $13 million to repair Lana'i's only harbor by October, Sen. Dan Inouye's office said.
Kaumalapau Harbor's rubble-mound breakwater, which protects ships from rough seas and surge conditions, has eroded to half its original 400-foot length over the past 25 years.
Contractors worried about safety had threatened to halt delivery of goods and services to Lana'i, he said.
The project's completion date will be moved forward to October from May 2006.
The full Senate Appropriations Committee is scheduled to vote on the measure tomorrow.
