Former Honolulu police officer Alan Ahn pleaded no contest in state court Tuesday to drug promotion charges involving cocaine, marijuana and three types of prescription drugs.
Ahn, 55, pleaded to nine charges ranging from a Class B felony to petty misdemeanor. He is facing up to 10 years in prison for the most serious charges at sentencing in May.
He is, however, asking the court to defer his no-contest pleas to give him the opportunity to avoid conviction and have the charges dismissed, if he stays out of trouble for a specified amount of time.
“Alan is working on a lot of positive things in his life right now,” said his lawyer, Andrew Park. “So he’s happy to put this behind him and focus on the future.”
Honolulu police narcotics/vice officers arrested Ahn and his then-girlfriend, Tiffany Masunaga, at the home they shared in McCully in August 2015. Deputy Prosecutor Katherine Kealoha told a state judge later that month that undercover police officers bought drugs at the residence and followed it up the next day with a search warrant.
The prescription drugs police said they seized were alprazolam, an anti-anxiety drug whose trade name is Xanax, and painkillers hydrocodone and fentanyl.
Ahn left the department following his arrest, just short of 10 years of service.
Masunaga is facing the same charges as Ahn, plus an additional one for distributing or possessing with intent to distribute cocaine within 750 feet of a school, public park or public-housing complex. Her case is pending.
KAUAI
Search for Anini beachgoer resumes
Rescue crews resumed the search Tuesday for a Maryland woman swept out to sea off Anini Beach.
The woman, a visitor from Baltimore in her early 20s, got into trouble in the ocean sometime before 6 p.m. Monday.
The Coast Guard said she became distressed about 300 yards from shore and yelled for help.
A friend, a 37-year-old Kapaa man, jumped into the water but got caught in a rip current, according to a Kauai Fire Department news release. Witnesses called 911, and when rescue crews arrived they found a paddleboarder was helping the man about 150 yards from shore.
Firefighters searched for the woman until nightfall. The Coast Guard searched through the night with an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and the cutter Kittiwake.
The Coast Guard continued its search Tuesday with additional help from an HC-130 Hercules aircraft from Barbers Point. The Fire Department’s Air 1 helicopter, firefighters on Jet Skis and a roving patrol unit also took part along Kauai’s North Shore.
A high-surf advisory is in effect for most of the Hawaiian Islands, including Kauai, until 6 p.m. today. Kauai’s Ocean Safety officials are urging the public to avoid swimming at any beach from Kee to Anini, including Hanalei.
Bacteria keep Waimea beach shut
Waimea Bay continues to have high concentrations of bacteria, likely from animals, the Health Department said Tuesday.
There is no reported source of sewage contamination, the Clean Water Branch said.
Unlike sandy beaches, Waimea Beach is made up primarily of sediment carried to the ocean by Waimea River, branch officials said.
The silt, mud, clay and gravel from weathering contribute to the general cloudiness of the coastal water area from Waimea to Kekaha. Particles in the water in turn provide attachment places for pollutants such as metals and bacteria, including enterococci, officials said.
The beach will reopen once the bacteria count is 1,300 units per liter or less.
