In Brief | Big Island & State | 4-8-14

Hilo man charged for burglary, theft

Hawaii Island police have charged an 18-year-old Hilo man with offenses stemming from a burglary that occurred in Hilo last week.

On Saturday while acting on a tip, police located and arrested Darren K. Ornellas without incident in the North Kohala District. He was transported to the Hilo police cellblock while detectives continued the investigation.

At 9:30 a.m. Monday, after conferring with prosecutors, detectives charged Ornellas with first-degree burglary and second-degree theft. His bail was set at $7,000. He is scheduled to make his initial court appearance Tuesday afternoon.

On April 3 at about 2:30 p.m., police responded to an in-progress burglary at a home on 23rd Avenue in Hawaiian Paradise Park. A 62-year-old Keaau man reported seeing a suspicious male walk up to the front door of his neighbor’s house and then to the rear of the residence, where he discovered signs of a break in. The neighbor confronted the suspect as he was seen running from the house and toward another house, where he subsequently ran into the bushes. Police learned that cash and electronic devices were stolen from the residence.

Area I Criminal Investigation Section detectives continue to pursue leads in similar burglaries both in the Hilo and Puna communities. Anyone with information on other burglaries should call Detective Royce Serrao of the Area I Criminal Investigations Section at 961-2272 or email rpserrao@co.hawaii.us.

Men arrested for burglary

Hawaii Island police have arrested three men suspected of committing a residential burglary in Hilo.

South Hilo Patrol officers, along with investigators from the Special Enforcement Unit and the Area I Juvenile Aid Section, responded Thursday to a 12:15 p.m. report from a neighbor of an active burglary occurring at a Likeke Street home where two men fled the residence on foot.

Patrol officers, assisted by detectives from the Area I Criminal Investigations Section, determined the suspects forcefully entered the house and removed jewelry, cash and a smart tablet having a total estimated value of $6,675. At 1:10 p.m. Thursday, police arrested 23-year-old Ethan Legaspi of Hilo in connection with this burglary after responding officers located him on Laula Road.

Through their continued investigation, Special Enforcement Unit officers identified the two other men suspected to have been involved in this incident.

At 5:10 p.m. Friday, police arrested 23-year-old Kawika Larinaga-Napihaa of Hilo on suspicion of burglary and on an outstanding bench warrant for criminal contempt of court. Another Hilo resident, 23-year-old Noah Simeona, was arrested in connection with this incident at 7 p.m. Friday.

After consulting with prosecutors, police charged Legaspi on Friday afternoon with one count of burglary and one count of theft. His bail was set at $26,000.

On Saturday evening, police charged Larinaga-Napihaa with one count of burglary. His bail was set at $25,000. Larinaga-Napihaa was also being held in lieu of $750 bail for his bench warrant.

Both were held at the Hilo police cellblock pending their initial court appearance Monday afternoon. Simeona was released from custody late Friday evening pending further investigation.

Police remind the public to remain vigilant in securing the windows and doors to their homes and businesses. Residents are encouraged to report suspicious activity by calling the police department’s nonemergency number at 935-3311. Those who prefer to remain anonymous may call Crime Stoppers at 961-8300 and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

Hilo man dies in crash

A 26-year-old Hilo man died Sunday from injuries he received in a two-vehicle collision on the Keaau-Pahoa Road (Route 130) between mile markers 3 and 4 in Keaau, according to the Hawaii Police Department.

He was identified as Matthew S. Therrien, police said.

Responding to a 4:31 a.m. call, Puna patrol officers determined the Hilo man was operating a 2010 Subaru multipurpose vehicle and traveling west on the Keaau-Pahoa Road when he overtook another vehicle and collided with a 2004 Ford F-350 pickup truck traveling east.

The driver of the Ford pickup truck, a 52-year-old Keaau man, was transported to Hilo Medical Center with minor injuries. He was also arrested for suspicion of operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant and was released pending investigation, police said.

Police are also investigating whether the driver of the other vehicle may have been intoxicated and speeding.

Both drivers were wearing their seat belts, police said.

Traffic Enforcement Unit officers have initiated a negligent homicide investigation and ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death.

Anyone with information regarding this crash should call Officer Tuckloy Aurello at 961-8119.

This is the fourth traffic fatality on island this year compared with 11 at this time last year.

Missing woman found

Big Island police have located 24-year-old Keaau resident Karissa Hirahira, who was reported missing.

She was found unharmed in Pahoa on Saturday, according to the Hawaii Police Department.

Kona man charged with stabbing

Hawaii Island police have charged a Kona man with several offenses in connection with a stabbing incident last week in Kailua-Kona.

On Saturday evening, Area II Criminal Investigations Section detectives charged 43-year-old Michael Dalton of Kailua-Kona with kidnapping, first-degree terroristic threatening, harassment and two counts of second-degree assault. His bail was set at $11,250, according to the Hawaii Police Department.

Dalton was held at the Kona police cell block until his initial court appearance Monday. The charges stemmed from an incident Thursday at the intersection of Alii Drive and Kahakai Road across from the Coconut Grove Marketplace in downtown Kailua-Kona, police said.

Responding to a 10:10 p.m. call Thursday, officers discovered a 43-year-old Kailua-Kona man with a laceration to his abdomen and back and a 38-year-old Kailua-Kona man with a laceration to his abdomen being treated by fire department rescue personnel. Both men were taken to Kona Community Hospital, where they were treated for their injuries and then released. Dalton was arrested several minutes later in Kailua-Kona and taken to the Kona cellblock while detectives continued the investigation.

‘Coco’ is this year’s ‘Ultimate Big Tree’

In the championship round of American Forests’ Big Tree Madness contest, “Coco” a towering coconut palm at the Hawea Heiau Complex in Hawaii Kai, Oahu, beat out Missouri’s “Big Sassy Basswood.”

Friday’s voting on the American Forests’ Facebook page resulted in “Coco” receiving 64 percent of the votes, making it the champion. During the three-week contest, mirrored after the NCAA’s Final Four basketball tournament, thousands of people from around the country voted for their favorite big trees. This was the contest’s second year.

Since 1940, the National Big Tree Program has recognized the beauty and critical ecosystem services provided by our biggest and oldest trees. More than 750 champions are crowned each year and documented in the biannual publication — the National Register of Big Trees. For more than 70 years, the program strives to preserve and promote the iconic stature of these living monarchs, as well as to educate people about the key role that these remarkable trees and forests play in sustaining a healthy environment.

“’Coco’ may not the biggest tree in overall girth, but to think at 112 feet high it’s withstood winds and storms and remains so stately and upright, makes it a remarkable tree,” said William Aila Jr., state Department of Land and Natural Resources chairman. “It appears like a guardian over the Hawea Heiau Complex. It is an important historical and cultural site that was recently protected from any future development in a heavily urbanized area.”

Hawaii currently has 10 trees on the National Register of Big Trees, including “Coco.”

Data shows unequal wages hurting women

An analysis recently released for Equal Pay Day shows just how much the gender-based wage gap is costing Hawaii women and their families. Women who are employed full time in Hawaii are paid just 83 cents for every dollar paid to men, amounting to a yearly gap in wages of $7,708. That means that Hawaii women lose a combined total of more than $1.5 billion every year — money that could strengthen the state economy and provide critical support to the nearly 57,000 Hawaii households headed by women.

The analysis was conducted by the National Partnership for Women &Families. Hawaii has the 44th largest cents-on-the-dollar gap among all states. The full report can be viewed at nationalpartnership.org/gap.

“Unfair wages cause real and lasting harm to women, the families they support, and to our economy. With women making up nearly half the workforce and serving as essential breadwinners in two-thirds of households, it’s time to finally put ‘Mad Men’-era wage policies in the past,” said Debra L. Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women &Families. “As this analysis shows, when women and their families lose thousands of dollars in critical income each year, they have significantly less money to spend on food, gas, rent and other basic necessities, and the consequences for their families and our state and national economies can be devastating.”

According to the analysis, if the gap between men’s and women’s wages were eliminated, each full-time working woman in Hawaii could afford to pay for food for 1.1 more years, pay mortgage and utilities for three more months, pay rent for six more months, or buy 1,800-plus more gallons of gas. These basic necessities would be especially important for the 22 percent of Hawaii’s women-headed households currently living below the poverty level.

121 stranded hikers rescued on Kauai

LIHUE, Kauai — Fire officials on Kauai say they have rescued 121 hikers who became stranded by rising waters that made a stream impossible to pass.

The Kauai County Fire Department said 98 hikers were flown out Monday after spending the night at Hanakapiai on the Napali Coast. Another 23 people were flown out on Sunday evening before dark.

The stranded hikers rescued Sunday included several children, including an 18-month-old and a 12-year-old boy who was swept downstream but able to get onto nearby rocks.

Two rescuers spent the night in the valley with the remaining hikers. No injuries are reported.

State officials have closed the park until further notice.

Rescuers free whale of rope, buoys off Maui

HONOLULU — A team led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration successfully freed an entangled humpback whale off Maui over the weekend.

The Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary said Monday a line of undetermined origin was caught in the whale’s mouth. The rope trailed about 120 feet behind the animal to a pair of buoys.

The sanctuary said the whale was in good condition, but the entanglement would have interfered with its ability to feed and would have threatened its life.

A Pacific Whale Foundation vessel first spotted the entangled whale Sunday morning. The response team freed the animal by midday.

The whale was last seen heading north after rescuers removed the gear.

The sanctuary said the whale isn’t among multiple entangled animals reported last week.

Abandoned homes in Guam create blight

HAGATNA, Guam — Scores of abandoned homes across Guam are affecting the quality of life for neighbors and decreasing property values of nearby homes.

Dededo Mayor Melissa Savares said there are about 300 abandoned homes in her community alone.

Pacific Daily News said many of the concrete homes belonged to families who bought them in the 1950s through the 1970s after typhoons destroyed wood-and-tin homes.

Now, members of that generation are dying, with many not leaving wills. In some cases, heirs have moved off the island and can’t take care of the homes anymore.

Mangilao Mayor Nito Blas said he has been asked by prospective buyers whether abandoned home in his village are for sale.

He said the problem is he doesn’t know who owns many of the homes anymore.

By local and wire sources