A former adult day care staff member has been charged with physically abusing two mentally disabled clients.
Lawrence Paul Miguel, who was on staff at Responsive Caregivers of Hawaii, was charged with four counts of endangering the welfare of an incompetent person, Attorney General Doug Chin said in a news release Monday.
Miguel is accused of abusing two people in separate incidents on June 11, 2014. He allegedly bent a client’s wrist backward before grabbing him by the shirt and forcing him into a wall. The second victim was forced to the ground, straddled and choked for removing a sandwich from a locker, according to the news release.
“Both victims are afflicted with profound intellectual disabilities and as a result are unable to communicate. Both incidents were observed by an eyewitness who intervened immediately,” the news release said.
If convicted, Miguel faces a sentence of up to one year in jail on each charge.
Man receives 10-year term for hit-and-run
WAILUKU >> A Wailuku man charged with killing a moped driver in a hit-and-run crash has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The Maui News reported Saturday that Shaun Shine pleaded no contest to negligent homicide, leaving the scene of a fatal crash and drunken driving as part of a plea deal in connection with the 2013 crash that killed Earle Maielua. He was sentenced Friday to five- and 10-year prison terms to be served concurrently.
Deputy Prosecutor Kerry Glen said Shine had been fleeing from police on his motorcycle when he struck Maielua, who was on a moped. Shine said he was afraid of the officer following him and that he would have stopped but “never got a chance.”
He apologized to the victim’s family in court.
Alleged shooter injured during fight outside bar
WAILUKU >> Maui police are investigating a reported altercation in Wailuku involving more than 20 people that resulted in the discharge of a firearm that injured the alleged shooter early Sunday morning. The altercation reportedly occurred at 2:02 a.m. in the parking lot fronting Ray’s Bar on Waiehu Beach Road.
Officers found an injured man on the ground and five bystanders in the area. The man was taken in stable condition to the Maui Medical Center.
Police said the injured man fired a gun, although no weapon was found at the scene. No other injuries were reported. No arrests were made.
Anyone with information is asked to call Maui Police Department Central Dispatch at 244-6400.
