Old Kona Airport Park tennis courts closed for resurfacing
Old Kona Airport Park tennis courts closed for resurfacing
The tennis courts at the Old Kona Airport Park will be closed Monday through Sept. 20, Hawaii County Department of Parks and Recreation officials said Wednesday.
Volunteers will be resurfacing the courts during the closure.
Mountain View man injured, father faces charges in dispute
Police are investigating a domestic dispute that sent a 24-year-old Mountain View man to the hospital for treatment of injuries.
Puna patrol officers responded to Keola Place in Mountain View at 8:30 p.m. Monday for an altercation between a father and his adult son. When officers arrived, the son ran into the forest. He came out at 11 p.m. with substantial bodily injuries and was taken to Hilo Medical Center, where he was treated and released. After his release, police arrested him on two unrelated bench warrants for contempt of court.
At 7 a.m. Tuesday, while police were securing the scene, the father, Jonathan P. Rodrigues Sr., emerged from the house and pointed what appeared to be a rifle at police officers.
Police later recovered an air rifle.
Rodrigues was arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault for the domestic incident and first-degree terroristic threatening for the incident with the weapon. He is being held at the Hilo police cellblock while detectives from the Area I Juvenile Aid Section continue the investigation.
3 injured in crash
on Highway 19
Three people suffered minor injuries in a crash Tuesday on Highway 19, Fire Department officials said.
Fire Department rescue workers found an overturned tractor trailer with moderate side cab damage and a passenger vehicle with significant front end damage when they responded to the scene. Police officers closed a portion of the highway while rescue workers tended to patients and a tow truck crew removed both vehicles from the scene.
DUI arrests down
9% compared
with last year
Police arrested 34 drivers for alleged drunken driving between Aug. 26 and Saturday. Eight of the drivers were involved in traffic crashes.
So far this year, police have made 854 DUI arrests, compared with 938 during the same period last year, a 9 percent decrease. There have been 905 major accidents so far this year compared with 985 during the same period last year, an 8.1 percent drop.
So far this year, there were 21 traffic fatalities on Hawaii Island compared with 25 during the same period last year, a 16 percent decrease.
To date, five fatalities were related to drugs only, one to alcohol only and four to a combination of both.
DUI roadblocks and patrols will continue islandwide.
Police department announces promotions
Chief Harry Kubojiri promoted four officers to the rank of lieutenant.
Lt. Juergen Canda is now assigned to the South Kohala District in Waimea. He joined the Police Department as a radio dispatcher in 1992 before becoming a police officer in 1996. His assignments have taken him to Hamakua, South Hilo and Puna as a patrol officer, to the Area I and Area II Criminal Investigations Sections as a detective and back to Puna as a sergeant.
Lt. James Gusman is assigned to South Hilo patrol. Gusman, who joined the Police Department in 1995, has worked as a patrol officer in Ka‘u and South Hilo, a sergeant in Ka‘u, and a detective first in the Area I Vice Section and, most recently, in the Area I Juvenile Aid Section.
Lt. Alan Kimura is also assigned to South Hilo Patrol. Kimura most recently served as a detective in the Office of Professional Standards (formerly known as Internal Affairs). Before that, he worked as a police officer in Hamakua and South Hilo. He joined the Police Department in 1994.
Lt. Allan Watanabe is assigned to the North Hilo district in Laupahoehoe. His previous assignments were in Ka u and Puna as a police officer and in South Hilo as a sergeant. He joined the Police Department in 1990.
The promotions took effect Sunday.
Hilo man sought
on arrest warrant
Police are searching for a 36-year-old Hilo man wanted on an arrest warrant.
Lathan Rosa is wanted on a $10,000 warrant for violating probation in an abuse case. He is also wanted for questioning in connection with an unrelated theft case.
He is described as part-Hawaiian, 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing 170 pounds with short black hair, brown eyes and a tattoo of “ROSA” on his upper back.
Police ask anyone with information on his whereabouts to call the Police Department’s nonemergency line at 935-3311.
Those who prefer anonymity may call Crime Stoppers at 961-8300 in Hilo or 329-8181 in Kona and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000. Crime Stoppers doesn’t record calls or subscribe to caller ID. All Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.
Speed enforcement patrols planned
on Saddle Road
Police on Wednesday issued a warning to drivers planning to use Saddle Road’s newest phase, the western realignment.
Police will be conducting speed enforcement patrols on the new road, which opens at 3 p.m. Saturday. Police will also post speed boards, which display a vehicle’s speed, as a reminder to motorists to keep their vehicle moving within the posted speed limit.
Pair face drug charges after police raid
A Hawi man and woman are in police custody on drug charges after police served a search warrant at their house.
Officers served a search warrant Tuesday on a home on Hiwahiwa Street, finding 120 grams of a crystalline substance and paraphernalia associated with methamphetamine use and distribution. Police arrested Steven Pang, 46, and Nicole Hayes, 26, at the scene.
Pang was charged Wednesday morning with first-degree meth trafficking and possession of drug paraphernalia. His bail was set at $52,000. Hayes was charged with third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug and possession of drug paraphernalia. Her bail was set at $4,000. They remain at the cellblock pending their initial court appearance scheduled for today.
Police encourage members of the public to report suspected narcotics activity to the Police Department’s Ice Hotlines at 329-0423 for information pertaining to the Ka’ʻu, Kona, South Kohala and North Kohala districts, and 934-VICE for information pertaining to the Puna, South Hilo, North Hilo and Hamakua districts.
Tipsters may also call Crime Stoppers at 961-8300 in Hilo or 329-8181 in Kona and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000. Crime Stoppers is a volunteer program run by people who want to keep their community safe. Crime Stoppers doesn’t record calls or subscribe to caller ID. All Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.
From local sources