Hilo man charged in shooting of his girlfriend and her mother
Hawaii County authorities charged a 34-year-old Hilo man Wednesday in the shooting deaths of his girlfriend and her mother.
Sean Matsumoto was charged with first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder, three counts of use of a firearm in commission of a separate felony and first-degree reckless endangering. The first-degree murder charge stems from multiple second-degree murder charges.
Police identified the women as Elaine Ahu, 74, and her daughter Rhonda Lynn Alohalani Ahu, 45.
Multiple shots were fired Monday night at the 600 block of Leilani Street. Police recovered a 12-gauge shotgun after the shooting.
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Matsumoto is being held without bail and is scheduled for a court appearance today.
Ballistic missile shot down in successful test off Kauai
A Pearl Harbor-based guided-missile cruiser shot down a medium-range ballistic missile target launched Tuesday from Kauai’s Pacific Missile Range Facility.
The test marked the ninth time in three years that the USS Lake Erie and its crew successfully performed at-sea operations against cruise and ballistic missile targets using the second-generation Aegis Ballistic Missile system. The Lake Erie recently received more powerful signal-processing equipment and updates for its weapon system computer programs.
The intercept took place at 11:10 p.m. Tuesday northwest of Kauai. The target missile was fired from the Barking Sands facility.
The test was the 24th successful intercept in 30 flight test attempts for the Aegis BMD program since 2002. Across all Ballistic Missile Defense System programs, it was the 58th successful hit-to-kill intercept in 73 flight tests since 2001.
Chinatown man pleads guilty to attempting to blow up house
A 45-year-old Chinatown resident has admitted to plotting to blow up a Kaimuki rooming house on March 11 because he had a grudge against one of its tenants.
Patrick Lopes pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to attempting to maliciously damage a building by means of an explosive. Sentencing was set for June 3 at 1:30 p.m. He faces a minimum five-year sentence.
The FBI said Lopes placed a bomb he made from materials bought at Home Depot outside the rooming house on 7th Avenue.
The landlord of the rooming house told the FBI last year that Lopes lived in her building from June 1994 to August 2011, but that she evicted him for smoking marijuana and because of complaints from other tenants.
A resident discovered the device near the house’s gas line. The lighted cigarette apparently set to ignite the fuse had gone out.
FBI agents arrested Lopes at his North Pauahi Street apartment two months later.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Work on facility at airport begins
The state broke ground Tuesday for a $14 million, 63,000-square-foot cargo building and light industrial facility at Hilo Airport.
The facility will also include office space for the state Department of Agriculture and for agencies that oversee freight activities. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
"Not only will this project put skilled craftsmen and women to work during its construction, the completed facility will serve the needs of the community for many years in the future," Gov. Neil Abercrombie said in a statement.
Classes to teach preparedness
The Kauai Fire Department and county Civil Defense Agency are offering free emergency-preparedness classes for residents.
The program, called Community Emergency Response Team, will be taught Thursdays from Feb. 21 through March 28 at Kauai Fire Department headquarters in Lihue, and Tuesdays from March 5 through April 9 at Hanalei Community Center. Sessions at both sites are from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Participants must complete all six sessions to become a CERT member. Missed classes can be made up at a later session.
Participants learn about different types of disasters and how to prepare and respond. Topics such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization and medical operations will be covered.
For more information, visit www.kauai. gov/cert or call 645-0661.
"The CERT program allows us to be proactive and train residents in basic disaster response so they become equipped to assist family members and neighbors until help arrives," Kauai Fire Chief Robert Westerman said.
