Man charged in connection with McDonald’s robbery

A 39-year-old man has been charged with robbing McDonald’s restaurant in Ewa Beach.

Scheyenn K. Melendez of Kapolei appeared at District Court on Thursday after he was charged Tuesday for first-degree robbery. Judge Maura Okamoto confirmed his bail at $250,000 and set his preliminary hearing for Tuesday.

At about 6 a.m. Tuesday at McDonald’s at 91-1051 Keaunui Drive, police said Melendez allegedly brandished a dangerous instrument and demanded money from a 24-year-old woman. Police arrested Melendez just before 6:40 a.m.

Ex-officer pleads not guilty to sex assault

A former Honolulu police officer on Thursday pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual assault of a young girl.

Teddy Van Lerberghe appeared at his arraignment before Circuit Judge James McWhinnie. Attorney Andrew Park pleaded not guilty on behalf of Lerberghe to four counts of first-degree sexual assault and three counts of third-degree sexual assault. Trial is scheduled for May.

Lerberghe has retained defense attorney Victor Bakke, who could not be reached for comment.

Lerberghe turned himself in to police last week after an Oahu grand jury indicted him on multiple counts of sexual assault. He remains free after posting $100,000 bail.

The alleged assaults occurred from 2004 to 2008 when the victim was younger than 14.

Lerberghe served as a Honolulu Police Department officer from 2007 until May, when he was terminated. He was last assigned to District 7, East Honolulu.

Nanakuli attack suspect pleads not guilty

A 21-year-old woman accused of driving her vehicle into a woman and her boyfriend in a racial rant in Nanakuli pleaded not guilty to the charges Thursday in Circuit Court.

Paresse K. Lai of Nanakuli appeared in court via closed-circuit video link from Oahu Community Correctional Center. She had been charged with two counts of first-degree terroristic threatening. A circuit judge scheduled a hearing for May.

She remains in custody in lieu of $25,000 bail.

Police said Lai and her passenger yelled and cursed at a 28-year-old African-American woman at a Hele gas station March 12 before shouting a derogatory term at the woman and telling her, “You don’t belong on this island.” Lai then drove her sedan into the victim and her boyfriend, according to a court document.

The couple suffered injuries in the attack, and a 73-year-old woman was also injured as Lai allegedly attempted to leave the scene. The older woman’s legs were pinned between a curb and her vehicle when Lai allegedly backed her car into the woman’s parked vehicle. The woman was stepping out of the vehicle at the time of impact.

Police said Lai fled the scene. About two hours later she turned herself in at the Waianae police station.