TODAY IN ISLAND BEAT: Don’t miss Mark Yamanaka and Kris Fuchigami in concert at the Palace PAGE A8
The cost of public safety
Prosecutor, police chief state their cases during budget presentations
By NANCY COOK LAUER
West Hawaii Today
Juvenile crime is down
58.5 percent during the past
five years, despite heavy caseloads
and limited budgets in
the county prosecutor’s office.
Crimes in other categories
also have been decreasing.
That’s according to
Prosecuting Attorney Mitch
Roth, the island’s only
countywide elected official
other than the mayor, who
made a budget presentation
Wednesday to the County
Council Finance Committee.
The department’s budget
has been about the same the
past several years, even as
expenses continue to rise, Roth
said. The current budget has
$7.4 million from the county
general fund, $1.3 million
from the state and $1.8 million
from the federal
government.
Roth cited
a combination
of more
prosecutions
along with an
emphasis on prevention
programs as factors
in reducing crime. Last
year, 1,720 defendants were
arrested and charged, compared
with 1,012 in 2015.
“I believe it’s paid off,”
Roth said. “If we don’t
get them off the streets,
they’re going to be committing
more crimes.”
Deputy prosecutors, who
aren’t paid overtime, have
high caseloads of 20-30
cases at a time, he said.
In 2016, the latest data
available, Hawaii County’s
total Index Crime rate and
property crime rate decreased
Come find your next page-turner
Man killed in fiery Laupahoehoe crash
By JOHN BURNETT
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
Index
Big Isle History B4
Classified B6
Comics B5
Commentary A6
Thursday, April 19, 2018
See PUBLIC SAFETY Page A7
STATE LEGISLATURE
Measure is one of two that
would tighten gun regulations
Open Daily 6:30am-9:30am | view full menu: www.queenscourtrestaurant.com
THE ALL NEW BREAKFAST BUFFET
Featuring: Omelet Station, Waffl e Station, Ice Cream Bar
Eggs Benedict, Meats, Hot Items, Baked Goods, Cereal,
Fresh Island Fruit, Soup, and Beverages
Only $26 per person
Queen’s Court Restaurant | Hilo Hawaiian Hotel | 71 Banyan Dr. Hilo | 808-969-6470
Issue No. 109
18 Pages in
2 Sections
Today’s
weather
Page A2
Community A4
Crossword B4
Cryptoquote B4
Dear Abby B4
Horoscope B4
Island Beat A8
Letters A6
Nation A3
Obituaries A2
Sports B1
State A2
Surf Report A2
Internet
Visit us on the Web at:
www.hawaiitribune-herald.com
Bump stock
ban being
considered
By AUDREY McAVOY
Associated Press
HONOLULU — Lawmakers
are discussing versions of two
bills that would tighten the state’s
already strict gun regulations.
One bill would ban bump stocks,
a device used by the gunman in the
Las Vegas shooting last October that
killed 58 people. Bump stocks allow
guns to be fired like assault weapons.
Massachusetts, New Jersey,
Washington and Vermont
have each banned the
devices since the
Las Vegas shooting.
Florida’s governor
last month signed
a bill banning them,
but the National Rifle
Association filed a lawsuit challenging it.
The other bill would reduce the time
a gun owner who is disqualified from
possessing a gun would have to turn
in his or her weapon. The state House
version would provide seven business
days, down from the current 30. The
Senate version would allow seven days.
House and Senate members are
working out differences in their bills.
Sen. Clarence Nishihara, Democratic
chairman of the state Senate’s public
safety committee, conceded the
More from the Capitol
• State lawmakers are appropriating $125 million
to help with flood relief efforts on Kauai and
elsewhere. House and Senate leaders said
Wednesday the money would support road, bridge
and infrastructure repairs. Kauai will receive
$100 million of the money. The remainder will
go to sites statewide. House Finance Committee
Chairwoman Rep. Sylvia Luke says the state
and counties are assessing the damage. But
she says it’s important to supply the immediate
cash infusion to support the people of Kauai.
>>> Read more about the flooding
on Kauai on Page A3
Courtesy photo
This photo shows the scene moments after a pickup truck
drifted into the opposite lane and collided head-on with
a tanker truck near the 25-mile marker of Highway 19 in
Laupahoehoe.
A fatal two-vehicle
collision early
Wednesday afternoon
closed Hawaii
Belt Road (Highway
19) in Laupahoehoe
for several hours.
According to Hawaii
Police Department
Capt. Andrew Burian,
a Honokaa-bound
Mazda pickup truck
“for some unknown
reason” veered into the
Hilo-bound lane of the
two-lane highway near
the 25-mile marker and
collided head on with
a Hawaii Petroleum
tandem trailer truck.
The driver of
the pickup, a male
of unknown age,
was pronounced
dead at the scene.
“I’m assuming
that driver was killed
instantly, from the
damage to the vehicle,”
said Burian, who added
the man was alone in
the pickup. “I thought
maybe the guy was
trying to pass somebody,
but there was a
See CRASH Page A5
HOLLYN JOHNSON/Tribune-Herald
Janice Moraga looks for children’s books for her 4-year-old granddaughter Wednesday evening during the Friends
of the Hilo Public Library members-only preview event for the semiannual Friends book sale at the library. The
sale is open to the public from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. today, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Saturday and
features fiction, nonfiction, children’s books, CDs, DVDs, LPs and puzzles. All proceeds benefit the Hilo library and
librarian scholarships.
24.1 percent and 26.5 percent,
respectively, to reach their
record low levels, and the
violent crime rate rose 16.3
percent, according to the state
Crime Prevention and Justice
Assistance Division. Hawaii
County’s burglary rate in 2016
also was at its record low level.
Police Chief Paul
Ferreira also came in to
ROTH
See BAN Page A7
/www.queenscourtrestaurant.com
/www.hawaiitribune-herald.com