An Oahu circuit judge sentenced 36-year-old Michael Limjuco Abella, a homeless man, to 20 years’ imprisonment on Wednesday in the beating death of a fellow homeless man in Chinatown last year. 

Circuit Judge Colette Garibaldi sentenced Abella for manslaughter in the beating death of Shelton Higa, 57. A Circuit Court jury found Abella guilty of manslaughter in August.

Witnesses said Higa was standing on the corner of Smith and Pauahi streets on July 17, 2014, when Abella came from behind and struck Higa on the head with a 40-ounce beer bottle and left.

They testified seeing Abella return about an hour later and punch Higa several times in the head.

Higa was taken to the Queen’s Medical Center, where he died 12 days later, on July 29, 2014, from complications of blunt force head injuries.

Emergency Medical Services said Higa had refused to be taken to a hospital after the first attack, but he was taken there after the second one. He died two days after doctors removed him from life support.

The state said Higa suffered from kidney disease and was partially blind in one eye.

Abella testified he did not hit Higa in the first attack with a beer bottle, but did hit him three times in the second attack after Higa provoked him and hit him twice.

Higa was the father of Matthew Higa, who is serving a life sentence for throwing toddler Cyrus Belt, 23 months, onto the H-1 freeway in 2008. Shelton Higa paid his son’s attorney’s fees in the case.

Big waves hitting all east-facing shores

A high surf advisory remains in effect through 6 p.m. Friday for the east shores of all islands, the National Weather Service said.

Surf of 6 to 10 feet is expected.

Strong breaking waves and currents will make swimming “difficult and dangerous,” the agency warned.

There is also a gale warning in effect for the Alenuihaha Channel, between Maui and Hawaii island, with winds of 26 mph to 40 mph, through 6 p.m. Friday.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Bill to increase Big Isle ethics board to 9 is postponed

KAILUA-KONA >> Hawaii County officials have voted to postpone a bill aimed at increasing the number of members on the Board of Ethics.

The County Council voted Monday to push back Bill 101 until late January to see if a compromise would be more suitable, West Hawaii Today reported.

The Finance Committee, composed of the entire council, voted 6-2 against the bill earlier this month.

The bill in its original form calls for a charter amendment on the ballot asking voters to decide on expanding the Board of Ethics to nine members from five, with one member from each council district. Each County Councilmember would submit their two board member candidates to the mayor, who would then pick one from each district and send the nomination to the council for confirmation.

The committee had argued against the idea, saying the current system where the mayor appoints and the council confirms is similar to all other boards and commissions.

“I urge you all to reconsider,” said Kohala Councilwoman Margaret Wille, the bill’s sponsor. “Our current system of dealing with the Ethics Board and dealing with ethics violations is broken and we need to fix it.”

Council members still voiced their concerns with the bill on Monday, but they said increasing the size of the board, which currently has just three members, could help field a quorum. All three members need to attend everymeeting in order to reach a board majority.

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Associated Press