Vegas man to serve 10 years on drug possession charges
LAS VEGAS » A 25-year-old Las Vegas man has been sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison for having large amounts of methamphetamine that prosecutors say were bound for Hawaii.
John Ortega was sentenced Nov. 25 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute and money laundering.
A co-defendant, Keith Alcos of Honolulu, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess meth with intent to distribute. He is due for sentencing Jan. 8.
Ortega was arrested in August 2013 with 2 kilograms of the drug in his car and another 4.5 kilograms in a storage unit.
Prosecutors say the drugs were intended for Alcos and two fugitive co-defendants, James Richardson Jr. and George Flores.
Alleged escape brings arrest of prisoner
Hawaii County police arrested a furloughed inmate Sunday who they say failed to return to the Hale Nani Furlough Center as scheduled Wednesday.
Jordan Kaneshiro left the facility Wednesday morning to go to job interviews but allegedly did not return as scheduled at 2 p.m.
Kaneshiro was located Sunday and arrested for alleged second-degree escape. He is serving time for terroristic threatening and abuse of a family member.
Park expansion on the agenda in Hana, Maui
The Maui Department of Parks and Recreation has scheduled a public meeting to discuss the future development of Pa‘ani Mai Park in Hana.
The meeting will begin at 5 p.m. Thursday at the Helene Hall meeting room, 150 Keawa Place, Hana.
Design consultant Fukumoto Engineering will present a brief history of the project since the expansion parcel was added to the park, and there will be a discussion on some of the challenges about the proposed build-out of the park.
Top UH officials to discuss its Kona presence
University of Hawaii President David Lassner and Vice President for Community Colleges John Morton will talk about UH’s presence in West Hawaii and plans for the future during a public forum at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 11 at the Kealakehe High School cafeteria.
The forum is open to the West Hawaii community. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss Hawaii Community College-Palamanui, scheduled to open in fall 2015.
