See stores or hpmhawaii.com/atv for details.
HCCC warden called to court
ORDER SAYS CABREROS MUST ANSWER FOR ERRONEOUS RELEASE OF MURDER SUSPECT
Golden anniversary
WEST HAWAII TODAY MARKS 50 YEARS TODAY
Warrant issued for Old A rape suspect
LATRIK ACCUSED OF VIOLATING CONDITIONS OF BAIL RELEASE
Lava-related
fire destroys
four more
homes
HALEKAMAHINA
PROPERTIES NOT YET
IN OFFICIAL TALLY
BY JOHN BURNETT
HAWAII TRIBUNE-HERALD
HILO — A brush fire
apparently started by
lava along Kilauea volcano’s
lower East Rift Zone
destroyed four houses
Saturday.
The houses were in the
Halekamahina Road area
off Highway 132 near
Kapoho,
according
INSIDE
to Janet
Businesses
Snyder,
unite to try
spokeswoman
to attract
visitors in
the midst
for Mayor
of Kilauea
Harry
disruption.
Kim.
PAGE 8A
Snyder
said the burning houses
were viewed during an
overflight by officials.
Those homes haven’t
yet made it to the official
count of dwellings
destroyed by lava or by
fires caused by the lava
from the current eruption
activity, which started
May 3, so the official tally
remains at 716.
SEE LAVA PAGE 8A
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TUESDAY, JULY 31, 2018 WESTHAWAIITODAY.COM 75¢
KAILUA-KONA — A 3rd
Circuit Court judge has ordered
the Hawaii Community
Correctional Center warden to
court to explain how a pre-trial
murder suspect was erroneously
released last week.
Peter Cabreros, warden for
the correctional center, was
ordered by Judge Melvin Fujino
to “show cause” on Aug. 9. The
order comes after Brian Lee
Smith was mistakenly released
from the facility on July 24. The
Department of Public Safety
and Hawaii County prosecutors
were unaware of the release
until Thursday.
Smith turned himself in
Thursday evening. On Friday
morning, Fujino increased the
49-year-old’s bail from $1.15
million to $2 million.
Smith is accused of murder
after a shooting incident on
Painted Church Road on June
23 that left Thomas Ballesteros
Jr. dead and another male
injured.
This is at least the second
time this year Cabreros has been
ordered before a 3rd Circuit
Court judge in Kona to explain
why a prisoner was released earlier
than intended.
In March, Cabreros appeared
before Judge Robert D.S.
Kim with the Department of
Public Safety’s attorney general
Michelle Agsalda to address
Kim’s concerns of the early
releases of Adam Glassbrook,
Tandi Ezzo and Ryan Wiles.
During the hearing, Kim
questioned the warden about
BY TIFFANY DEMASTERS
WEST HAWAII TODAY
tdemasters@westhawaiitoday.com
SEE COURT PAGE 5A
KAILUA-KONA — A bench
warrant has been issued for the
arrest of a teen, accused of sexual
assault, for violating conditions
of bail.
Samuel Latrik is facing
numerous class A felony sexual
assault charges connected to the
2016 Old Kona Airport rape case.
He is one of two males arrested
and charged in the crime.
His co-defendant, Tyrone
Sigrah, recently pleaded guilty to
first-degree sexual assault, second
degree assault, kidnapping
and second-degree robbery. The
17-year-old, who had been charged
as an adult, now awaits sentencing,
which is scheduled for Sept.
18.
Latrik, who was also charged as
an adult, is scheduled for a jury
trial on Oct. 23.
BY TIFFANY DEMASTERS
WEST HAWAII TODAY
tdemasters@westhawaiitoday.com
SEE LATRIK PAGE 5A
Samuel Latrik appears in Circuit Court for a bail
hearing in February. LAURA RUMINSKI/WEST HAWAII TODAY
KAILUA-KONA —
West Hawaii Today is
celebrating a half-century
providing the Big
Island’s leeward residents
an independent editorial
voice.
Today, July 31, 2018, is
our 50th anniversary.
From our humble early
days as a free weekly to
today publishing 365
days a year in print and
online, we couldn’t be
more excited as we look
back on five decades of
West Hawaii Today history’s
in our community
while looking
forward
to the
future.
“OPI
is proud
to recognize
WHT on
its 50th
anniversary
of publication,”
said Dennis
Francis,
president
of Oahu Publications
Inc., parent company of
West Hawaii Today and
the Tribune-Herald since
2014. “For most newspapers,
50 years is still
quite young but the daily
contributions to the community
in which we serve
cannot be measured in
years but instead
with our impact
on local lives.
We recognize
this awesome
responsibility
and wish to
thank our loyal
readers and
advertisers for
our success.”
While
anniversaries
are days
to reflect, it’s
exciting to
keep looking
down
the road,
as West
Hawaii
Today
plans to
stay anchored in the
community.
“It’s been a privilege to
lead the editorial team for
the two and half years and
be part of the WHT ohana,”
said Tom Hasslinger, West
Hawaii Today managing
editor. “The community
has been a great supporter
of what we do — even
when it disagrees with certain
coverage. We’re blessed
to be able to serve West
Hawaii.”
Early days
Hot off the press, West
Hawaii Today entered
the community on
Wednesday, July 31, 1968,
a week after the Hawaii
Tribune-
Herald
announced
it would
cease publication
of the
Kona Weekly
Tribune-
Herald.
Offices were
set up in
Kainaliu
and Irma
Chillingworth
was named the
paper’s first reporter,
providing local news for
residents from Kohala to
Pahala.
Our first edition, a
32-page tabloid paper
with spot color, featured
on its cover Mrs. Hester
Machado’s garden, a petition
by residents to restore
operating room access for
a local doctor, coverage
of Kona’s world-famous
Hawaiian International
Billfish Tournament and
a police officer charged
with raping a 19-year-old
tourist.
Our second edition
welcomed the site preparation
for the Keauhou
Beach Hotel (currently
BY CHELSEA JENSEN
WEST HAWAII TODAY
cjensen@westhawaiitoday.com
SEE WHT PAGE 9A
“For most newspapers, 50 years is still
quite young but the daily contributions
to the community in which we serve
cannot be measured in years but instead
with our impact on local lives.”
DENNIS FRANCIS, PRESIDENT OF
OAHU PUBLICATIONS INC.
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