A Hawai'i soldier serving in Iraq has died of a noncombat-related illness, the Department of Defense said yesterday.

Sgt. Reno S. Lacerna, 44, of Waipahu, died Dec. 31 in Al Qayyarah, Iraq.

He was assigned to the 87th Corps Support Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

The death is under investigation.

JUDGE OKS FEDERAL TRIAL FOR MURDER

A state judge yesterday granted a prosecution motion clearing the way for Rodney Joseph Jr. to be tried in federal court for murder, racketeering and using violence in aid of racketeering.

Before Circuit Judge Michael Town's ruling, Joseph had been scheduled to be tried in state court for murder in the January 2004 Pali Golf Course shooting case and in federal court for racketeering-related crimes. After reassessing the state's case, Honolulu Prosecutor Peter Carlisle and U.S. Attorney for Hawai'i Ed Kubo agreed to have the murder and racketeering cases tried in federal court.

Carlisle's office has filed similar motions against Ethan "Malu" Motta and Kevin "Pancho" Gonsalves, two other defendants in the Pali shooting case. Town is scheduled to rule on the motions today.

Joseph's federal trial will start Feb. 12.

2 BANK BRANCHES ROBBED YESTERDAY

American Savings Bank branches in McCully and Waipahu were robbed yesterday at 10:25 a.m. and 3:33 p.m., respectively.

No injuries were reported in either incident, police said. The robberies brought to three the number of bank holdups on O'ahu since Monday.

The first robbery, at 1018 McCully St., involved a man passing a demand note to a teller and fleeing toward Young Street.

The robber was described as 5 feet 9 and 160 pounds. He was wearing a blue T-shirt with a light-color trim around the collar, and brown pants. He had a black mustache and goatee.

He matches the description of the robber in Monday's heist at First Hawaiian Bank's Chinatown branch at 2 North King St.

In the second robbery, at 94-060 Farrington Highway in Waipahu, a man handed a teller a note demanding money. He got an undisclosed amount of money and fled in a white car, police said.

There was also an aborted robbery at the Hawaii National Bank branch at 1505 Dillingham Blvd. at 2:22 p.m. A man presented a demand note but the woman teller, 28, froze and the man fled empty-handed, police said.

Anyone with information about any of these incidents is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300, or *CRIME on a cell phone.

CRASH VICTIM DIES FROM INJURIES

A teenage moped driver injured in a Dec. 18 traffic accident in Kalihi died Dec. 26 at The Queen's Medical Center.

The Honolulu medical examiner's office identified the victim as Felix Umblas, 17. Autopsy findings listed cause and manner of death as multiple force injuries due to an accidental motor vehicle collision.

The medical examiner's office also said Robert Degnan, 53, of Hale'iwa, died Dec. 15 from complications of multiple blunt injuries suffered in an April 27 motorcycle accident in Wahiawa.

Degnan was critically injured while operating a motorcycle on a median on Wilikina Drive in an attempt to pass a car.

O'ahu's traffic fatality count for 2007 was 68.

The total includes a death caused by medical reasons, according to the medical examiner, and police are expected to adjust the total.

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