Kauai man, 26, gets life term for murder
A 26-year-old Anahola man was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the execution-style killing in 2010 of Aureo Moore, who was a witness in a robbery earlier that year.
Kauai Circuit Chief Judge Randal G.B. Valenciano, who presided over the monthlong trial of Vicente K. Hilario, also granted the prosecution’s request to impose a sentence of an additional five years for bribery of Angienora Crawford. Hilario was also ordered to pay $800 in restitution.
In March a jury found Hilario guilty of first-degree murder, intimidating a witness, retaliation against a witness and bribery.
Valenciano said trial evidence showed Moore’s murder on Dec. 17, 2010, was premeditated, involved drugs and was an effort to protect territory and profit. The judge said the murder was brutal, "many ways like an assassination," according to a Kauai County news release.
Evidence showed that the murder was related to Moore being a witness in an August 2010 daylight armed robbery in the Kapaa Safeway parking lot, the news release said.
Testimony also showed that Hilario bribed Crawford to entice Moore to Anahola on the pretext of buying oxycodone pills, and that Hilario then proceeded to chase and shoot Moore six times at close range, according to the news release.
Ex-convict charged with assaulting girl, 15
Authorities charged a 21-year-old Waipahu man Tuesday in the sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl in March.
Live Samuela was charged with one count of first-degree sexual assault. His bail was set at $35,000.
Police said the girl reported she was assaulted by Samuela at 11 a.m. March 1.
Samuela was convicted Feb. 22, 2012, of three counts of first-degree sexual assault, one count of attempted first-degree sexual assault and four counts of third-degree sexual assault. He was sentenced to one year of imprisonment and five years’ probation.
Man who died at Kahala beach is ID’d
The Honolulu Medical Examiner’s Office has identified the 63-year-old man who died July 3 after snorkeling at a Kahala beach as Michikane Kawasaki.
The cause of death has yet to be determined.
Police said Kawasaki’s girlfriend found him unconscious in the water near a Kahala hotel. He was taken to the hospital where he later died.
There no apparent signs of foul play, police said.
Man charged in sex assault
A 60-year-old man was charged with breaking into a Kihei, Maui, apartment earlier this month and sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl.
Zdenek Behuncik was arrested July 10 on suspicion of first-degree sexual assault and first-degree burglary. His bail was set at $150,000 after he was charged.
Maui police said the victim’s mother was awakened by the sound of her daughter crying and telling her there was a man in the room. The victim’s mother saw a man standing over her daughter with a flashlight in his mouth. The mother then chased the suspect from the room. The male ran down the stairs and into the parking lot as the victim’s mother called the police and provided a description of the suspect.
A police officer who arrived on the scene and saw a man fitting the suspect’s description walking at a fast pace within the apartment complex detained the suspect.
