A Catholic cardinal from California will appear in court Sept. 24 in Kailua-Kona after he was arrested last week on suspicion of drunken driving.
The Most Eminent Cardinal William Joseph Levada, 79, of Menlo Park, Calif., was stopped at about midnight Thursday on Hina Lani Street and charged with DUI, according to the Hawaii Tribune-Herald.
He was released from custody after posting $500 bail about an hour later.
“I regret my error in judgment,” Levada said in an email statement issued Monday by the Archdiocese of San Francisco. “I intend to continue fully cooperating with the authorities.”
Levada was on vacation with priest friends when the DUI arrest occurred, archdiocese spokesman Michael Brown said.
A police spokeswoman said in an email Monday that Levada was pulled over after a Kona patrol officer saw him swerve while driving north on Queen Kaahumanu Highway north of Kealakehe Parkway.
Levada was driving a 2015 Nissan Altima and was alone in the car at the time, the spokeswoman said. She declined to give Levada’s blood-alcohol content, but a 0.08 blood-alcohol level is the threshold for legal intoxication in Hawaii.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Big Island police suspect Pahoa woman was murdered
Hawai County police have opened a murder investigation in connection with the discovery of a woman’s body on her property in Puna.
Puna District officers responded to reports of a disturbance Tuesday evening on Kapoho Kai Drive. Investigation led to the discovery of a woman’s body outside her home, with suspicious injuries, the Hawaii Police Department said by email.
The victim was identified as 63-year-old Nadean Rutledge of Pahoa.
Detectives have ordered an autopsy.
“I heard someone screaming and yelling like they were fighting and someone saying, ‘Help,’ and then it stopped,” neighbor Suzanna Jamison told Hawaii News Now. A short time later, Jamison’s daughter and a friend saw a suspicious man at the home with blood on his leg, she said.
Later, there was more commotion.
“It sounded like the family came home … and found something very upsetting,” Jamison said.
Witnesses are asked to call 935-3311 or Detective Grant Todd at 961-2255 with information. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous may call the islandwide Crime Stoppers number at 961-8300 and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.
