Policewoman has fraud plea deferred

Circuit Judge Colette Garibaldi granted on Thursday a Honolulu police officer’s request to avoid conviction by deferring her no-contest pleas to insurance fraud and attempted second-degree theft.

If Cheyenne Garcia stays out of trouble for the next five years and pays a $500 fine, she can have the charges removed from her criminal record.

Her lawyer, Jeff Hawk, said Garcia got into a fender bender after her automobile insurance had expired, called the insurer to reinstate her coverage and then reported the accident occurred after she renewed her policy. The insurance company investigated the $2,100 claim and refused to pay it.

Garcia, 29, joined the Honolulu Police Department in 2008 and remains employed as an officer. However, Hawk said Garcia expects to lose her job.

Boy run over by tractor in stable condition

HOOLEHUA, Molokai » A 4-year-old Molokai boy was in stable condition after his grandfather accidentally ran over him with a tractor, police said Thursday.

Elijah Huff Jr. was riding on the tractor driven by his grandfather, Walter Mendes, on Wednesday near the Molokai Airport, Maui police said.

The boy stepped off the tractor when it stopped, and Mendes tried to reach for him. But his foot slipped off the clutch, causing him to run over his grandson, police said, adding that it was an accident.

The boy broke his arm and was preparing to be transferred to a children’s hospital in Honolulu, said Mendes’ wife, Kathleen. Mendes was at his grandson’s hospital bedside, she added.

"He’s talking," she said of Elijah. "He’s already telling his story. He’s doing really, really well."

The boy loves riding the tractor with his grandfather, who was moving it on the family’s property at the time, she said. The family grows native dry-land shrubs and trees.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Sight of shark closes beach

Kauai Ocean Safety officials closed Salt Pond Beach near Port Allen Thursday because of a shark sighting in the area.

A 7-foot gray reef shark was reported in the water fronting a lifeguard tower.

The beach was to remain closed until at least this morning, officials said. Lifeguards will continue to monitor the area.

For up-to-date information about ocean conditions, beachgoers should talk to a county lifeguard or call the Ocean Safety Bureau at 241-4984.

Blaze razes homeless camp

A brush fire destroyed a homeless encampment Wednesday in Lahaina, a Maui County official said.

Firefighters responding to a 3 p.m. alarm found a 4,000-square-foot homeless camp mauka of Prison Street ablaze and people fleeing, fire spokesman Lee Mainaga said.

A helicopter and ground units had the fire out by 4:30 p.m. No injuries were reported. Mainaga said an investigator could not determine the fire’s cause.

Residents asked to remove bags

Kauai County officials are reminding residents to not leave plastic bags with yard clippings and other green waste at county facilities.

Workers have reported a marked increase in the number of plastic bags being left at transfer stations and the Kekaha landfill, the county said.

There is no charge to residents to drop off green waste.

More information is available at www.kauai.gov/recycling or by calling the County Recycling Office at 241-4837.