Snake caught near military airfield

Military personnel at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam captured a small, mildly venomous snake Thursday afternoon in a maintenance bay near the airfield and turned it over to the state Department of Agriculture.

The Hawaii Department of Agriculture says its inspectors now have the foot-long snake.

The snake was identified as a juvenile ornate tree snake, a Department of Agriculture spokes­woman said. Ornate tree snakes are mildly venomous and are related to the brown tree snake, which has devastated the ecosystem on Guam. They are also known as ornate flying tree snakes for their ability to spring from tree to tree.

It’s not known how the snake got to Hawaii. The Air Force continues to search the area.

Boyfriend is indicted in fatal stabbing

A Kauai grand jury indicted Steven Michael Wilson on Thursday on a second-degree murder charge in connection with the death of Kendra Lewis.

Lewis’ body was found April 26 in a two-bedroom condominium that she shared with Wilson at Kawaihau Sports Villa in Kapaa. Her uncle found her body on the floor of her bedroom.

Wilson, 26, and Lewis dated for two years in Alaska and moved to Kauai in December.

According to a court document, Wilson "snapped" and repeatedly stabbed Lewis with a hunting knife. He also tried to kill himself, the document said.

Lewis, 21, was last seen April 19 by her uncle and several friends at a dinner party in her apartment.

Counterfeit cash in increased use on Garden Island

Kauai businesses are seeing an increase in counterfeit bills being circulated, and police officials urged the public to be on alert.

"Once you accept a counterfeit bill, there’s almost nothing that can be done to recover lost funds," said Assistant Police Chief Roy Asher of the Investigative Services Bureau.

The types of counterfeits can vary from fake bills printed on regular paper, to real bills that are chemically "washed" and reprinted with a new denomination. Washed bills are especially difficult to identify because a counterfeit detection pen won’t always detect a fake, so business owners and employees must know what to look for when examining money.

For tips on how to detect counterfeit money, visit the U.S. Secret Service website at www.secretservice .gov/money_detect. shtml.