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Police officers to be retried in DUI checkpoint overtime case

The city prosecutor’s office will retry four Honolulu police officers accused of falsifying public documents to get more overtime.

Attorneys for Sgts. Aaron Bernal and Duke Zoller, and officers Christopher and Patrick Bugarin, appeared in Honolulu District Court Tuesday.

A case against all four was dismissed in May when Circuit Judge Edward H. Kubo Jr. determined the case had taken too long to go to trial. Kubo, however, allowed prosecutors to re-file the case.

The four are accused of putting the names of the two sergeants on arrest reports to show they were at DUI checkpoints when they weren’t so that they could increase the chances of gaining overtime later if defendants challenged the arrests in court. Bernal and Zoller are additionally charged with theft and accomplice to theft.

Bernal was granted a six-week continuance, until Aug. 22.

Attorneys for the other three sought three-week continuances, but were only granted two weeks. Their next hearing will be July 26.

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