Fatal blaze, ruled arson, yields arrest

Police arrested a 43-year-old man yesterday in connection with a deliberately set fire that killed a 76-year-old man last month in Liliha.

The man, who has no local address, was found at Ahui and Olomehani streets at 3 p.m. Police booked him on suspicion of second-degree murder.

The fire at a rooming house at 1909 Liliha St. on Feb. 2 displaced 22 people. Clarence Isobe was pulled out of the two-story building and died of burns.

Honolulu fire investigators determined the fire was intentionally set outside the residence, and damage was estimated at $300,000.

Stabbing brings no criminal charges

Prosecutors have decided not to prosecute a 51-year-old man who stabbed a younger man in self-defense Monday during an argument in Salt Lake.

Police said the two men were drinking in a driveway on Salt Lake Boulevard when an argument broke out at about 9 p.m. and the older man stabbed the other man several times with a sharp object.

Paramedics took a 35-year-old man with stab wounds to the hospital in critical condition. The Prosecutor’s Office said the victim survived the attack.