SUSPECT CHARGED AFTER TRAFFIC STOP

Prosecutors have charged Jeffrey Damon Ellis with third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug and two counts of unauthorized possession of confidential information after a traffic stop early Thursday morning in Makiki.

Ellis, 37, who has 25 convictions and no permanent local address, was being held in lieu of $35,000.

CHARGES FILED IN IDENTITY THEFT

A 28-year-old man was charged Saturday with offenses related to an identity-theft case involving three alleged victims.

Kimo Leopoldo was arrested Thursday morning in possession of three credit cards belonging to a man and two women, police said. He was charged with credit-card theft and three counts of unauthorized possession of confidential information.

Leopoldo has nine convictions, according to state Criminal Justice Data Center records. He was being held on $35,000 bail.

MAN ACCUSED IN HOME ARSON

A 20-year-old man was charged yesterday with starting a fire Saturday inside his family home on 20th Avenue.

Thomas K. Benevedes was accused of first-degree arson, with bail set at $25,000.

Police said Benevedes set a mattress on fire about 3 p.m. with his stepmother and stepbrother in the home. The fire was extinguished by his father. No injuries were reported.

MAN CHARGED IN KALIHI SHOOTING

A 29-year-old man who allegedly fired three shots at a man and woman early Friday morning in Kalihi was charged yesterday with attempted murder and firearm charges.

Nelson Dumbrique Albino allegedly shot at his 23-year-old girlfriend and a 27-year-old man. No injuries were reported.

Albino is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail for first- and second-degree attempted murder and for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Albino, who was arrested by Kalihi Crime Reduction Unit officers at 12:30 p.m. Saturday is a felon with three convictions.

Police said the shots were fired at the man and woman while they were in a truck at 2:40 a.m. When the pair saw the suspect running toward them, they drove off and one of the three shots struck the truck, police said.

MILILANI EXPLOSION BEING INVESTIGATED

Police have made no arrests in a first-degree reckless-endangering investigation into an explosive device detonated Friday at Mililani Town Center that damaged two vehicles but caused no injuries.

The device was a plastic bottle containing a chemical solution mixed with water that was placed under the tire of a vehicle, police said. The explosion was reported at 7:42 p.m.

On March 11, several plastic bottles containing a chemical mixture exploded at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa's Johnson Hall "A" dormitory at about 11:58 p.m. Five of seven chemical-reaction devices left on the lawn and in the stairway exploded, police said.

A man who picked up one of the bottles got medical treatment after liquid splashed into his eyes. No arrests have been made in that investigation.

CHARGES FILED IN KAUA'I STABBING

LIHU'E, Kaua'i — A Kilauea man was charged yesterday with attempted second-degree murder in connection with an early morning stabbing Saturday in Moloa'a.

Benjamin Todd Beaty, 42, was being held on $100,000 bail.

A Kilauea man, 40, who was stabbed at 2:15 a.m. Saturday, was flown to The Queen's Medical Center in critical condition.

KALIHI VALLEY WOMAN ARRESTED

A Kalihi Valley woman was arrested Saturday on five probation-revocation warrants totalling $125,000.

Brandyanne Keolakai Kellet, 29, had nine convictions, five of them for felonies including auto theft, first-degree burglary, escape, third-degree promotion of dangerous drugs and promoting prison contraband, since 2002.

Her sentencing in eight different cases included five years of probation, to run concurrently.

68-YEAR-OLD HIKER IN WAI'ANAE DIES

A 68-year-old Mililani man who may have been stricken with a medical condition while hiking in Wai'anae yesterday was pronounced dead on arrival at Hawaii Medical Center-West.

Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. Terry Seelig said the department's helicopter took advantage of a short break in bad weather to drop two firefighters on a hiking trail in Wai'anae Valley to attend to the hiker. His companions were administering CPR, and the man was flown to the hospital at 2:32 p.m.

KAUA'I PEDESTRIAN DIES AT QUEEN'S

An elderly pedestrian struck by a vehicle yesterday in Puhi, Kaua'i, died at The Queen's Medical Center.

The Honolulu medical examiner's office identified the woman as Alepia Motilla, 80. She was injured at 8:36 a.m. on Kaua'i and died at 3:53 p.m.