A Makaha man and two visitors have died in separate water-related incidents since Sunday in Hawaii.
James S. Sweeney, 80, of Carlsbad, Calif., died Thursday after he was found unresponsive in waters off Kaanapali, Maui police said. The cause of death is pending an autopsy.
Rescue units summoned to Black Rock at 10:11 a.m. found Sheraton Maui Resort staff performing CPR on the man, who had been pulled to shore by witnesses, the Maui Fire Department said. The victim died at the scene.
On Oahu, Jeffrey Walthall, 47, of Makaha was identified Thursday as the man pulled from waters off Makaha Beach earlier this week, the medical examiner’s office said. Walthall was taken in critical condition to the hospital after he was found at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. Cause of death also is pending an autopsy.
On the Big Island an autopsy has determined that Jurgen Essig, 49, of Kirchheim unter Teck, Germany, died from a medical condition while swimming Sunday in waters at Anaehoomalu Bay in Waikoloa.
Essig was identified by his fingerprints, Hawaii County police said Thursday.
Police investigating 2 separate robberies
Police responded to two unrelated robberies Thursday morning in Kapahulu and McCully.
They are still looking for the man who entered a Kaimuki Avenue home at 1:05 a.m. and fled with a wallet.
The man entered through an unlocked front door and threatened a 56-year-old man and 63-year-old woman. He fled to Crane Park across the street with the man’s wallet, but police were unable to find him. The case has been classified as first-degree robbery.
Two hours later a 19-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of second-degree robbery after he allegedly threatened and robbed a 31-year-old man at McCully Street and Kapiolani Boulevard.
Industrial accident critically injures man
A 51-year-old man was critically injured Thursday at a construction site in Kapolei, Emergency Medical Services said.
The man was hurt at 2:30 p.m. in an industrial accident at the site on Wakea Street. Paramedics assessed and treated the man and transported him to a hospital.
Police arrest man connected with robbery
Prosecutors charged a 30-year-old man Thursday in connection with a robbery at Keolu Market in Enchanted Lake.
John Vea, with no local address, was arrested near Mayor Wright Housing in Kapalama at 3:40 p.m. Wednesday. He was charged with first-degree robbery and two contempt of court charges. Bail was set at $100,000. Police were still looking for another suspect, a 25-year-old man.
Police said two men and a woman entered the store at about 4:25 p.m. Oct. 7 and tried to steal property.
Surveillance images from the store’s security camera were posted to social media in an attempt to identify the assailants and showed a suspect subduing a 60-year-old store employee in a chokehold.
The victim told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that one of the suspects also threatened him with a pair of bolt cutters.
Police said the suspects fled empty-handed.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
2 men arrested in Molokai double shooting
Two Molokai men were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder Wednesday, and two men are being treated for gunshot wounds — one of them in critical condition — at the Queen’s Medical Center, Maui police said Thursday.
A Kaunakakai man, 32, and a Hoolehua man, 26, were arrested on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder Wednesday night, police said. The two are being held in the Molokai Police Station pending formal charges.
The 32-year-old has a conviction record dating to 2004, including felony thefts and a car break-in. The latest conviction, dated Nov. 17, was for misdemeanor abuse of a family member.
The 27-year-old has four felony convictions dated June 28, 2010, for auto theft.
Police said the shooting occurred Wednesday afternoon near a house on Puu Kapele Avenue in Hoolehua. Two people were shot near the home, police said.
A 52-year-old Molokai man was in critical condition at Queen’s. The second victim — a 37-year-old man — was also hospitalized at Queen’s, in guarded condition.
