Kalihi man, 80, is charged in killing

Authorities charged an 80-year-old man yesterday in connection with Wednesday’s stabbing death of a female relative in their Kalihi home.

Benjamin Lucas of Arsenal Road was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail last night after being charged with second-degree murder.

The victim, 64, died from stab wounds she received at the home Wednesday morning.

Police said a 46-year-old woman ran downstairs at the home and saw her father standing holding a kitchen knife over her aunt, who was lying in a pool of blood.

Lucas allegedly fled from the scene but surrendered later to police.

Police have not said what Lucas’ relationship was to the victim.

Mo-ped operator dies after collision

A 23-year-old Big Island man has died from injuries from a mo-ped collision, the Hawaii County Police Department said yesterday.

Kainoa Austin Abril of a Captain Cook address died Monday at the Queen’s Medical Center from a collision Saturday at the intersection of Queen Kaahumanu Highway and Kealakehe Parkway.

Kona patrol officers determined that a 44-year-old Kailua-Kona man was driving a 2005 Ford F-350 pickup truck south on Queen Kaahumanu Highway and making a left turn onto Kealakehe when he struck the mo-ped, which was traveling north.

Abril and his passenger, a 17-year-old girl from Illinois, were transported to Kona Community Hospital. Abril was flown later to Queen’s in critical condition.

The driver was arrested on suspicion of negligent injury and released pending further investigation.

It was the 28th traffic fatality on the Big Island this year, compared with 22 at the same time last year.

Isle’s officers penalized more in 2010

Disciplinary actions against Big Island police officers have more than doubled this year compared with previous years.

West Hawaii Today reported yesterday that the Hawaii County Police Department’s 2010 report to the Legislature listed 35 infractions, up from 16 in 2009 and 14 in 2008.

Twenty-one suspensions involved officers not filing required incident reports, which must be filed within 24 hours of an event, followed by supplementary reports within 15 days.

Deputy Chief Paul Ferreira told the county Police Commission Wednesday that the department takes the violations very seriously.

He said some officers are not following procedures and that the department will take action against them.

Scammers hit Garden Island over Internet

Kauai police have received reports of Internet scams aimed at obtaining money from people and are warning residents to be on guard.

One of the scams involved a fraudulent landlord who required payment of a first month’s rent before he showed an apartment to an interested lessee.

But the supposed landlord could not be reached after the victim deposited payment into a Texas account.

In another case a victim was sent counterfeit money for goods he sold through a popular online classifieds site.

The Kauai Police Department said Wednesday it is urging people to verify websites they use for monetary transactions.

It is also urging people to take precautions when releasing personal information or sending money to people they do not know.