3 charged in Chinatown gambling raid
Three men have been charged with gambling after police seized six electronic gaming machines in a raid Friday night on an alleged gambling room in Chinatown.
Vice officers served a search warrant about 9:30 p.m. at Kathy’s Flowers & Leis at 1020 Smith St. and found three men gambling inside, a police supervisor said.
The supervisor said the flower shop, a front for the illegal activity, didn’t have a working cash register. While the shop had snacks and drinks for sale, it didn’t have any flowers.
The gambling room was behind a door in the flower shop, the supervisor said.
Man Thanh Nguyen, 43, of Chinatown; Ferdinand G. Valdez, 46, of Iwilei; and Tuan Anh Tran, 40, of Kalihi were arrested and cited for gambling, a misdemeanor. Nguyen and Valdez were being held Saturday in lieu of $500 bail, while Tran was being held in lieu of $250 bail.
Man struck by bus dies of his injuries
A 67-year-old Nanakuli man died Saturday of severe injuries after being hit by a city bus on Farrington Highway, police said.
The man, who had dementia, was on the makai shoulder when he wandered into the roadway as a bus was passing him in the town-bound direction near Hakimo Road in Nanakuli at 5:53 a.m., police said.
He was hit by the side of the bus and fell straight back, hitting his head, police said. The man suffered severe head injuries, and paramedics took him to Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, where he died. The Honolulu Police Department’s Traffic Division was investigating.
Police said about 15 to 20 people were on the bus at the time. The driver, a 41-year-old woman, stopped and reported the incident.
Ex-boyfriend accused of kidnap, assault
A 29-year-old Manoa man allegedly kidnapped his ex-girlfriend, forced her to drive him to his house and assaulted her, police said.
Police said the 42-year-old woman’s current boyfriend dropped her off at her apartment in Waikiki at about 10:30 p.m. Friday. After the boyfriend left, the ex-boyfriend confronted the woman, forced her to drive to his house, and prevented her from leaving by locking the doors and restraining her, police said.
The woman screamed for help after the man threatened and assaulted her, and a 30-year-old man who lives next door went to investigate, police said. The woman escaped when her ex-boyfriend assaulted his neighbor, police said.
Officers arrested the suspect at his house at 3:40 a.m. on suspicion of kidnapping, second-degree terroristic threatening, and two counts of third-degree assault.
Waianae fire leaves 3 people homeless
Three Waianae residents were displaced Saturday after fire destroyed their one-story house on Puhawai Street.
The fire was first reported at 7:10 p.m. The three residents — a woman in her 80s, a woman in her 50s and a man in his 50s, were able to escape the structure without injury, according to Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. James Todd.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation and no damage estimates were available. The American Red Cross Hawaii Chapter is assisting the displaced residents with food, shelter, clothing and other needs.
