Police arrested a 20-year-old man on suspicion of murder in connection with the death of Waianae High School graduate Dustin Molina in Maili.
Police initially classified 18-year-old Molina’s death as unattended, pending autopsy results. Police have since reclassified the case as murder.
Plainclothes officers of the Honolulu Police Department’s Kapolei-Waianae crime reduction unit obtained information on the suspect’s whereabouts and arrested him in Aiea at 7:30 p.m. Thursday on suspicion of second-degree murder.
Charges are pending.
An area resident found Molina with suspicious injuries Tuesday morning on a rocky shoreline near Maili Cove, a residential apartment building.
The autopsy showed Molina had a stab wound, among other injuries.
CrimeStoppers and police sought the public’s help in locating the 20-year-old man, who had been wanted in a separate case after he allegedly kidnapped his ex-girlfriend. At about 7:30 p.m. Sunday in the parking lot of Kapolei Commons, police said, a 20-year-old woman met the suspect and entered his vehicle to collect her belongings.
After she attempted to exit the vehicle, police said, the suspect grabbed her by her clothes and pulled her back inside. The suspect started to drive away. At some point, police said, he placed a knife against the woman’s body and threatened to kill her.
The victim managed to escape.
Skateboarder dies in vehicle collision
A skateboarder died Friday after colliding with a U-Haul in Waipahu.
According to police, the 40-year-old Waipahu man was riding a skateboard down the center of Farrington Highway around 3 p.m. when he entered the intersection with Waipahu Depot Road against a red light and struck the side of the truck, which was operated by a 25-year-old Kapolei man.
The skateboarder, who was not wearing a helmet, fell to the roadway, sustaining massive head injuries.He was pronounced dead at the scene.
This was the 43rd traffic-related death on Oahu this year, compared to 53 at the same time last year.
Shortly afterward, a traffic collision in Ewa Beach left one man in critical condition and two women seriously injured. The collision, involving a truck and sedan, occurred at Kapolei Parkway and Kahiuka Street around 3:07 p.m.
A 75-year-old man was critically injured and transported to a local trauma center. Two women, age 55 and 89, were also transported to a trauma center.
Ewa Beach fire caused by refrigerator
A malfunctioning refrigerator triggered a fire that caused an estimated $230,000 in damage to an Ewa Beach building early Friday morning, according to the Honolulu Fire Department.
The fire, at a Pahuhu Way address, was first reported at 4:26 a.m. and was extinguished by 4:33 a.m.
Damage was estimated at $153,000 to the structure and $77,000 to its contents.
No injuries were reported.
