In brief | Big Island & State | 6-11-14

Police seek man in Pahoa theft

Hawaii Island police are asking for the public’s help in identifying a man wanted for theft in Pahoa.

The incident took place in a market, where the 56-year-old victim briefly put his wallet down and an unknown man grabbed it, according to the Hawaii Police Department.

The man is described as Caucasian, possibly in his late 50s, with a medium build. Anyone with information on his identity or whereabouts should call the police department’s nonemergency line at 935-3311.

Those who prefer to remain anonymous may call the islandwide Crime Stoppers number at 961-8300 and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000. All Crime Stoppers information is kept confidential.

Search for missing fisherman suspended

HONOLULU — The Coast Guard suspended the search Monday for a missing fisherman off the Big Island.

The 110-foot Coast Guard Cutter Kiska, homeported in Hilo, an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew and an HC-130 Hercules aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point and a boat crew, helicopter crew and dive crew from the Hawaii Fire Department searched for the man.

More than 959 square miles were searched, according to the Coast Guard.

The 56-year-old Hilo man, Arnold Asato, was fishing from a 10-foot cliff near MacKenzie State Recreation Area Friday evening when reporting sources say he was swept out to sea after either slipping or being washed off by a wave.

Watchstanders at the Sector Honolulu Command Center received notification from the Hawaii Fire Department at 9:40 p.m. Friday, launched the Dolphin and Hercules aircrew and diverted the Kiska.

The missing fisherman was wearing black rain gear.

“The suspension of our active search effort is always a difficult decision and is not made lightly,” said Cmdr. Arex Avanni, a search and rescue mission coordinator at Coast Guard Sector Honolulu. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and loved ones.”

For more information, call the Sector Honolulu Command Center at 842-2600.

Sen. Hirono calls for investigation into Hawaii VA

HONOLULU — U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono has requested a deeper look into the wait times veterans are subjected to when seeking health care in Hawaii.

Hirono sent a letter to the Office of the Inspector General within the Department of Veterans Affairs on Monday.

An internal VA audit released Monday said that new patients wait an average of 145 days in Hawaii for an appointment with a primary care physician.

Hirono said she believes established patients also wait too long based on complaints she’s received from veterans.

Local VA director Wayne Pfeffer said he welcomes any external review that would help the hospital improve.

Pfeffer said the hospital began working on reducing wait times before the recent audit. He said auditors didn’t find any inappropriate scheduling activity among his staff.

Trial begins in Guam crash-stabbing rampage

HAGATNA, Guam — Prosecutors and defense lawyers in Guam say nearly 170 people are expected to testify in the murder trial of a 22-year-old man charged with killing three Japanese tourists and hurting 11 others during a rampage in a busy tourist area last year.

Jury selection began this week in the trial of Chad Ryan DeSoto. Authorities say he barreled his car down a sidewalk, crashed into a convenience store, then got out and stabbed bystanders, including two infants.

Opening statements are scheduled for Monday.

DeSoto has pleaded not guilty by reason of mental illness to charges of aggravated murder and attempted murder.

The case has drawn international attention, with some raising questions about tourist safety in the U.S. territory.

Officials say the trial will last more than a month.

Hawaiian among most punctual airlines, feds say

WASHINGTON — Airlines are doing a better job of arriving on time, although more than one in five flights still run late.

The U.S. Transportation Department said Tuesday that the nation’s biggest airlines achieved an on-time arrival rating of 79.6 percent in April. That is up from 77.6 percent in March and 77.3 percent in April 2013.

The most punctual airlines were Hawaiian, Alaska and Virgin America. The most likely to be late were ExpressJet, Southwest Airlines and Envoy, which used to be called American Eagle.

The government said canceled flights were down — 1.1 percent of domestic flights, compared with 1.8 percent in April 2013. And no domestic flights were stuck on the ground for more than three hours, although one international flight remained on the tarmac for four hours, exceeding the limit in federal rules.

The airlines reported that for every 1,000 passengers in April, there were 2.92 bags that were lost, stolen, damaged or delayed, down slightly from the 3.07 rate in April 2013. Virgin America rated best at bag handling, while Envoy was worst by a wide margin.

Complaints to the government rose 16 percent, but the number of consumers who filed a formal complaint remained tiny — 1,259 complaints out of 483,499 flights that were tracked. Southwest had the lowest rate of complaints; Frontier Airlines had the highest.

The Transportation Department report covers 12 airline companies but excludes smaller carriers such as Spirit Airlines and Allegiant Air because their revenue from domestic flights is less than 1 percent of the industry total.

Hauula man sues Honolulu Police Department

HONOLULU — A 30-year-old Hauula man is suing the Honolulu Police Department, claiming officers used excessive force in arresting him and withheld evidence that would have kept him out of jail.

Hawaii News Now reported Jonah Kaahu was jailed for nine months until a judge dismissed his case on the grounds of police misconduct.

Circuit Judge Ed Kubo ruled that police withheld witness testimony and cellphone videos of his arrest taken by friends and tourists.

Kaahu on Aug. 22, 2012, was arrested outside a Haleiwa restaurant where he worked. He was charged by prosecutors with terroristic threatening, assault against a police officer and criminal property damage.

His attorney said police ignored witnesses who said Kaahu was not the instigator of a fight that broke out.

NTSB says pilot error to blame in February crash

HONOLULU — Pilot error is blamed for a small plane accident at a private Molokai airstrip.

The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported the National Transportation Safety Board released a factual report in the Feb. 27 accident.

The report said pilot, 79-year-old John Weiser Jr., continued his second approach even though he was misaligned with the airstrip and the runway lights had gone out, forcing him to twice activate them. The right wing of the plane, a Partenavia P68 Observer, hit a line of trees, causing the engine to stall and drop 10 feet.

Weiser wasn’t injured. He co-owns Affordable Casket Outlet LLC, the registered owner of the plane.

Weiser told investigators he had made thousands of landings at the strip, and his confidence masked the consequences of continuing a bad approach.

By local and wire sources