Ka‘u man arrested, charged for robbery
A Ka‘u man who was arrested Thursday in connection with a robbery involving a hatchet has been charged for that case and for another robbery, according to the Hawaii Police Department.
After police put out a media release asking for help in locating 23-year-old Kainoa Kahele-Bishop of Ocean View for a robbery on Jan. 26, a 48-year-old Ocean View man recognized his picture and reported he had been robbed by the same man earlier the same day. In that case, the victim was fishing at South Point when he was confronted, threatened with bodily harm and robbed of an undisclosed amount of cash.
At 6 p.m. Friday, Area II Criminal Investigations Section detectives charged Kahele-Bishop with two counts of robbery, two counts of theft, terroristic threatening and unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle.
Police said the other arrest stems from a report on Jan. 26 that a 47-year-old Discovery Harbor woman walking near her car on South Point Road had been threatened with a hatchet by a woman who got out of a white Toyota sedan. The two women scuffled and the victim was able to take the hatchet away and throw it into the brush. During the scuffle, the victim suffered a bite on the right forearm. A man then exited the Toyota, reached into the victim’s car and removed a bag. The male suspect fled in the Toyota after a passerby stopped to intervene. The female suspect entered the victim’s car and unsuccessfully attempted to start it. She then ran into the bushes.
A police investigation led to the identity of the suspects. The woman, 25-year-old Trinety Crapser of Ocean View, was arrested Jan. 27 and charged Jan. 28 with robbery, assault and unauthorized entry of a motor vehicle, police said.
Police order autopsy in fatal near Kahuna Falls
Big Island police have ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death of a Pepeekeo man who was found dead Sunday near Kahuna Falls.
Jeffrey Reyes, 53, was reported missing Friday night and was last seen Friday morning leaving his van in the Akaka Falls State Park parking lot. The van was still in the parking lot when the park closed at 6 p.m. Friday, according to the Hawaii Police Department.
Hawaii County Fire Department personnel began searching Friday night and closed the park while they searched again Saturday and Sunday. Rescuers found Reyes submerged in the Kolekole Stream, near Kahuna Falls, Sunday morning. His body was recovered and he was officially pronounced dead at 12:36 p.m. Sunday at the Hilo Medical Center.
Police have reclassified this case from a missing person to a coroner’s inquest and do not suspect foul play.
Missing Hilo teen found in Puna
Big Island police have located 16-year-old Brianna Kehaulani Freitas-Jones of Hilo, who was reported missing.
She was found in good health Friday in Puna, according to the Hawaii Police Department.
Police looking for missing Hilo man
Big Island police are searching for a 23-year-old Hilo man who was reported missing.
Philip Voelker was last seen near Orchidland in the Puna District sometime in November, according to the Hawaii Police Department.
Voelker is described as 6-foot-4, weighing 210 pounds, and having a thin build, a light complexion, brown hair, blue eyes and several tattoos. He is also wanted for several outstanding warrants.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts should call Officer Eddie Cardines at 965-2716 or the Police Department’s nonemergency line at 935-3311. Those who prefer to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 961-8300. All Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.
29 arrested for suspected DUI
Big Island police arrested 29 motorists for suspected driving under the influence of an intoxicant from Jan. 27 through Sunday. Nine of the drivers were involved in traffic crashes and one was younger than 21.
So far this year, there have been 130 suspected drunken driving arrests, compared with 96 during the same period last year, an increase of 35.4 percent. There have been 120 major accidents so far this year, compared with 112 during the same period last year, an increase of 7.1 percent, according to the Hawaii Police Department.
To date, there have been three traffic fatalities on the island, compared with seven during the same period last year, a decrease of 57.1 percent. None of this year’s fatalities were related to drugs, alcohol, or a combination of both.
Plans in the works for Aiea zip line attraction
HONOLULU — A real estate development company is proposing a zip line tourist attraction over an Aiea neighborhood
The estimated $1 million project would be the second zip line operation on Oahu, in a tourism-driven business that has grown more rapidly on the outer islands, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Monday.
An affiliate of Towne Development of Hawaii Inc. filed a draft environmental assessment with the state. Plans call for seven pairs of zip lines in forested ridges above Waimalu’s Royal Summit neighborhood.
The company said the business will not be seen or heard by those in nearby homes. But some residents fear it will cause more traffic.
“My wife and I bought our home because of the quiet streets, nice neighborhoods, and we believed it would be a great place to raise our children,” said Royal Summit resident Robert Young.
The company expects to have up to 25 tours a day. There are plans to remove invasive plant species and increase native plants.
The zip lines would range from 240 to 1,200 feet. Oahu’s existing commercial zip line is 400 feet long. It extends over a miniature golf course at Bayview Golf Course. A third Oahu zip line is planned for Kualoa Ranch.
The first zip line course in the nation was built in Hawaii in 2002, according to a 2012 state auditor report. The report said there were 22 known zip line tour operations in Hawaii at the time, mostly on Maui and the Big Island.
Honolulu rail system project to progress
HONOLULU — Oahu’s planned rail transit project is scheduled for significant construction work in 2014, despite an unresolved case in federal court.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser said the work resumed last fall in the fields of west Oahu after a year-long court ordered hiatus.
Oahu residents this year can expect to see almost 200 additional concrete columns erected to ultimately support the elevated rail system. Many of the columns will be along Kamehameha Highway west of Aloha Stadium.
The project’s main opponents, meanwhile, are criticizing the plans to continue construction despite an unresolved lawsuit.
The anti-rail group, honolulutraffic.com, says it is concerned the city is trying to push the project through so it “forces the judges’ hands.
A hearing is scheduled Thursday in Honolulu for the federal lawsuit against the project.
By local and wire sources