Suspect is charged with man’s murder
A man was charged by prosecutors Thursday afternoon with murdering a friend and is being held in lieu of $2 million bail.
Teddy Munet, 29, was charged with second-degree murder in the death of William "Billy" Fallau, who was found dead with a bullet in the back of his neck by hikers at Kawainui State Park on July 19.
Prosecutors also charged Munet with second-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, possessing drug paraphernalia and three firearms counts. He is expected to appear today in Honolulu District Court.
Family members said that six months ago Fallau asked his father to allow Munet to live in their garage in Kaneohe. Munet stayed there until his arrest Tuesday afternoon, even trying to console Fallau’s sister.
The Fallau family is holding a prayer chain and remembrance in honor of Billy Fallau at 5 p.m. today at Kapaa Quarry Road near where he died.
Man bursts into house, fires gun, is caught
A 37-year-old man was in police custody Thursday after allegedly breaking into a house in Waipio, firing a gun and fleeing into a nearby townhouse complex.
Police said the officers responded to a CrimeStoppers tip of a robbery suspect in a car at a self-storage facility on Ka Uka Boulevard.
The man, who was in a stolen car, wrestled with officers, then ran to Mele Place, where he entered a garage and forced his way into the house, police said.
A 56-year-old woman tried to stop the man from entering but then fled with her 27-year-old son out another door.
The gunman ransacked the house, then fled, and was captured after trying to escape in a van parked across the street in the Villages at Waipio complex, said police.
Police said a responding officer and a witness heard a gunshot while the man was in the Mele Place house. Officers later recovered the handgun in a neighboring yard and also found a shell casing.
Witnesses said officers swarmed the area and closed intersections, while a police helicopter hovered above and SWAT officers moved around in protective gear.
Cassidy Kusumoto, 14, said police were telling residents in the complex to evacuate their apartments because there was a man with a gun.
As she came downstairs, she heard officers yelling, "Down, down," and ducked, thinking there might be shooting.
"I was screaming a little bit," she said. The officers "had their guns drawn, and they were yelling."
Kurtis Backiel, 27, said two officers came to his second-floor door and asked whether they could use his lanai to spot the suspect across the street.
That’s when the man came running down the road in front and jumped into a maintenance van, he said.
Police arrested the man, then took him to Pali Momi Medical Center for treatment of a cut.
Waipahu man arrested in school burglary
Police arrested a 31-year-old Waipahu man Wednesday for allegedly stealing expensive computers, video cameras and other electronic items from the audiovisual room at Campbell High School in Ewa Beach.
Police said the thefts occurred between July 18 and Saturday.
The suspect was seen on video surveillance images, and officers arrested him at his Aniani Place home in Waipahu on suspicion of burglary.
