Pawnbroker indicted in theft, drugs case
An Oahu grand jury returned an indictment Wednesday against a licensed pawnbroker and dealer of secondhand goods on multiple theft and drug trafficking charges.
The indictment also charges Luke J. Warner, 45, with attempting to violate the prohibition on felons owning or possessing firearms. He was arrested in a sting operation earlier this month.
Warner has prior convictions for drug possession and burglary.
He remains in custody, unable to post $250,000 bail.
Police said Warner did business from his car, his 34th-floor Hawaiian Monarch Hotel home and the hotel’s lobby. They said he knowingly accepted stolen goods for which he paid cash or traded for drugs.
Cruelty charges filed against horses’ owner
The state Attorney General’s Office is pursuing new animal cruelty charges against a Kauai woman whose 16 horses were confiscated by the Kauai Humane Society.
Lara Butler-Brady was re-indicted Tuesday on 16 misdemeanor animal cruelty counts. A judge in May had granted her motion to dismiss the charges because prosecutors reached the six-month time limit for a speedy trial.
The humane society took away her horses in 2010, saying the animals were thin or emaciated. The horses remain in protective custody at a Kauai shelter.
The judge’s decision was without prejudice, allowing the state to file the charges again.
The Garden Island newspaper reported that Butler-Brady pleaded not guilty. A trial is scheduled for Oct. 15.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Tractor strikes, kills woman, 87
An 87-year-old Wailuku woman was fatally injured Wednesday morning in a marked crosswalk when she was hit by a tractor that had run a stop sign.
Police identified the pedestrian as Bomani Kim, who died at the crash scene at Eha and Waena streets in Wailuku.
Police said the 2000 Kenworth tractor was driven by a 44-year-old Makawao man.
The vehicle was traveling northwest on Waena Street when it failed to stop at a stop sign at Eha Street while making a right turn.
The driver was not injured.
It was Maui’s 16th traffic death this year, compared with seven at the same time last year.
Man identified as crash victim
Hawaii County police have identified the 19-year-old Waikoloa man who died Tuesday after a two-vehicle crash in July as Wyland K.B. Damaso.
Police said the crash occurred shortly before 10:43 a.m. July 30 on Queen Kaahumanu Highway, 200 feet south of Kaiminani Drive in Keahole.
Police said Damaso was driving a 2012 Ford sedan north on Queen Kaahumanu Highway when he crossed the center line and collided with a 2001 Isuzu van driven by a 54-year-old Kailua-Kona man.
The Kailua-Kona man was treated at and released from Kona Community Hospital.
Fire rescue personnel took Damaso to Kona Community Hospital, and he was later flown to the Queen’s Medical Center, where he died Tuesday.
This was the 24th traffic fatality on Hawaii island this year compared with 15 at the same time last year.
