A lawyer entered a plea of not guilty in a Las Vegas court yesterday on behalf of suspended Honolulu police officer Shayne Souza, who was arrested Aug. 15 along with two other Oahu men on misdemeanor drug charges.

A not-guilty plea was also entered on behalf of Scott Wilson, who has been described as a Honolulu social worker.

Souza and Wilson were not present for their respective arraignments, but were not required to be there, Las Vegas court officials said.

A second Honolulu police officer, Kevin Fujioka, was arrested along with Souza and Wilson and is tentatively scheduled to be arraigned in Las Vegas on Nov. 16.

Nonjury trials have been scheduled — for Souza on Nov. 18 and for Wilson on Feb. 9.

Souza, 47, Fujioka, 37, and Wilson, 38, were arrested near Desert Breeze Park in Las Vegas after Park Police officers there noticed a white van parked across several parking stalls and went to investigate.

A formal complaint had not been lodged against Fujioka as of yesterday but will be filed, most likely within a week of his scheduled arraignment, Las Vegas officials said.

All three of the men were charged with possession of less than an ounce of marijuana. In addition, Souza was charged with obstructing a public officer, for allegedly running away from a Park Police officer after being told to stand in front of the van in which he and the other two men were found.

Fujioka was also charged with driving under the influence of a narcotic. All of the charges against the three Honolulu men are misdemeanors under Las Vegas law.

Souza and Fujioka have been stripped of their police powers and put on administrative leave without pay pending the outcome of an internal Honolulu Police Department investigation.

Souza is a 20-year veteran of the department, and Fujioka has been with HPD for 13 years.

The two were off-duty and in Las Vegas to participate in a softball tournament.