Ex-school secretary accused of theft

A former public school secretary at Lehua Elementary in Pearl City has been charged with theft and forgery for allegedly stealing school funds.

Janel Echiberi, 35, was charged with two counts each of second-degree theft and forgery.

She is scheduled to be arraigned today in Circuit Court. According to the state attorney general’s office, she was scheduled to enter a change of plea.

The charges are felonies, each punishable by five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Echiberi is accused of stealing school funds and forging documents while employed at the school from Aug. 27, 2004, to Sept. 6, 2008.

Deputy Attorney General Christopher D.W. Young declined to discuss the details of a case.

Man charged with girl’s molestation

Prosecutors charged a 34-year-old Waianae man with first-degree sex assault yesterday morning for the alleged molestation of a 5-year-old girl.

Lotonuu Tuiolemotu was being held on $85,000 bail.

Police arrested Tuiolemotu, a friend of the victim’s family, Monday morning.

Alewa man held on firearms offense

A 21-year-old Alewa Heights man who allegedly fired a gun into the air Sunday during a brawl near Keeaumoku Street, made his initial court appearance Tuesday.

Bryson Lee of Paina Street went to Oahu Community Correctional Center, unable to post $20,000 bail, after appearing in Honolulu District Court. He is charged with first-degree reckless endangering and a firearms offense.

Early Sunday morning, about 30 people began fighting near Sheridan and Rycroft streets behind the Hawaii Medical Service Association building, police said.

Lee fired a handgun into the air, and the crowd dispersed, police said. Officers arrested Lee and recovered the gun.

6 hikers rescued from Pearl City trail

Firefighters Tuesday night rescued six hikers who became stranded after dark on a trail in Pearl City.

The party included two women, one pregnant, and four children, said Fire Department Capt. Terry Seelig.

A friend of the hikers called firefighters about 6:30 p.m. to report someone from the group had texted on a cell phone to say the hikers didn’t know how to find their way out, Seelig said.

A fire helicopter circled overhead while firefighters with a rescue company hiked the trail from the top of Waimano Home Road. They found the hikers about an hour later by calling out to them.

Argument ends in man’s arrest

Police arrested a 34-year-old Haleiwa man who allegedly slashed his roommate with a knife after an argument Tuesday night.

Police said the suspect and victim got into a shouting match at about 10:20 p.m. The 34-year-old man allegedly pulled out a knife and slashed the lower left chest of his roommate, a 49-year-old man.

The suspect ran away. Officers arrested him a short time later at another Haleiwa address.

Man missing on Kauai found OK

LIHUE » Kauai police reported a missing 68-year-old Princeville man has been found in a remote area of Wailua.

They said the man was tired and dehydrated when he was discovered Tuesday, but that he hadn’t suffered any significant injuries. He was taken to Wilcox Memorial Hospital, where he was treated and released.

The man was reported missing Monday night after relatives hadn’t heard from him for three days.

The search effort included about 28 personnel from the Kauai police and fire departments, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Kauai search-and-rescue canine units.

Male suspect is wanted in purse theft

The Hawaii Police Department is asking for the public’s assistance in locating and identifying a robbery suspect who took a purse from a diner at a downtown Hilo restaurant last Thursday.

Hilo patrol officers talked to a man who said the suspect took his wife’s purse from a table while they were seated about 7:30 p.m. When the husband attempted to stop the suspect, the suspect punched him in the face.

The suspect is described as being in his mid-20s, 5 feet 10 to 5 feet 11 inches tall, 250 pounds, with a tattoo on his right outer calf.

Police ask anyone with information to call Detective Ernest Matsumoto at 961-2379 or the Police Department’s nonemergency line at 935-3311. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call CrimeStoppers at 961-8300 in Hilo or 329-8181 in Kona.