Tip leads to arrest in bank robbery …

An anonymous tip helped police catch a 25-year-old man who is accused of robbing a First Hawaiian Bank in Waikiki last month, federal court documents show.

Edward John Cimafranca has been charged with first-degree robbery and is being held without bail at the federal detention center, said FBI spokesman Tom Simon.

According to the documents, Cimafranca walked up to a teller at the bank at about 4:15 p.m. June 11 and passed a note saying he had a gun and wanted money, then fled with $516 in cash.

On June 22 the Honolulu Police Department received a tip saying the suspect in the bank robbery, who goes by "John John," was living with his brother on Kaiko Street in Ewa Beach.

Officers arrested Cimafranca in Ewa Beach on Monday, and he admitted to robbing the bank and identified himself in the surveillance videos, court documents said.

… while suspect is sought in another

Police are looking for a man who robbed a Salt Lake bank at gunpoint yesterday afternoon.

A man entered the Bank of Hawaii branch at 4404 Malaai St., near Target, at 2:17 p.m.

The man showed a handgun and demanded money from the teller. He fled mauka on Malaai Street in an older-model gray van, police said.

The man is described as blond, between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing 140 to 160 pounds. He was wearing a gray long-sleeve shirt, a white baseball cap with the letters "NY" on it, sunglasses and long pants.

Councilman eligibility suit going to trial

WAILUKU » A lawsuit seeking to remove Maui County Councilman Sol Kahoohalahala from office will go to trial next month.

The suit filed by 17 Lanai residents contends that Kahoohalahala cannot represent Lanai on the County Council because he lives in Lahaina.

Maui Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza said yesterday both sides deserved to go to trial so that all the facts could be presented and weighed. A trial was scheduled for the week of Aug. 9.

Cardoza rejected a motion by the Lanai residents seeking summary judgment, or an immediate action to remove Kahoohalahala from his seat.

The group says Kahoohalahala does not meet the County Charter requirement that he be a resident of the district he represents on the Council.

Pilot error is blamed in copter crash

A student pilot on his second solo flight failed to maintain directional control during takeoff, causing his helicopter to roll over on the Big Island in May, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report released yesterday.

The crash happened at about 7:30 a.m. May 25 in Kona with a Robinson R22 Beta helicopter.

Both the student pilot and the flight instructor said the student used too much "left anti-torque pedal" during takeoff.

The helicopter slid off the landing pad, then spun to the left three times with its skids on the ground before rising about two feet into the air and spinning counterclockwise three more times, the report said.

When the right skid touched down, the helicopter rolled onto its right side, causing substantial damage to the cabin and tail.