Honolulu police arrested a 33-year-old mother and a 33-year-old father Friday afternoon in connection with the Jan. 1 Aliamanu fireworks explosion that killed four people and injured dozens of others.
At 2:30 p.m., Ruben T. Mateo and Jewel Ann Quines Cabras were arrested at 4144 Keaka Drive on suspicion of first-degree reckless endangering, first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor and three fireworks offenses.
“The investigation is ongoing and additional arrests are forthcoming,” according to police.
More than “20 witnesses were located and interviewed, digital evidence was reviewed and examined, and many hours of surveillance video were recovered and reviewed” since the fatal blast, according to a Honolulu Police Department highlight.
“The suspects attended the New Year’s Eve gathering at the Keaka Street home. While at the gathering, they ignited illegal fireworks and also allowed their three children, ages 15, 10, and 1, to ignite illegal fireworks. The youngest child was injured during the explosion and was transported to a nearby hospital for medical treatment before being released,” HPD said.
Detectives determined that shortly after midnight Jan. 1, a person who was attending the party “lit an aerial cake on the driveway leading to the carport.”
The “cake,” filled with about 50 individual cartridges of aerial fireworks, fell on its side, and aerials shot into two crates that contained additional cake fireworks, setting off an explosion, police said.
The injuries included impalements with shards of glass and pieces of wood. Fractures, concussive blast injuries and ruptured eardrums were also among the injuries suffered.
Carmelita Benigno, 61, Nelie Ibarra, 58, Jennifer Van, 23, and Cassius Ramos-Benigno, 3, died from the explosion of illegal fireworks at a Keaka Drive party at 12:01 a.m. New Year’s Day. Benigno was the grandmother of Ramos-Benigno, and Ibarra was the child’s great-aunt.
Among the casualties was Benigno’s son Junior and her daughter Charmaine Benigno, who was among the six people flown to an Arizona burn center for specialized treatment.
Ramos-Benigno was the only child taken by ambulance to a hospital from the explosion scene at 4411 Keaka Drive. Thirteen ambulances transported 21 people to hospitals, 19 of them in critical condition with burns.
The tragic deaths a minute into the new year refocused community frustration with the proliferation of illegal aerial fireworks. Lawmakers and law enforcement officials are working on ways to efficiently enforce Hawaii’s ban on aerial fireworks.
After his third State of the State address, Gov. Josh Green outlined a plan to issue up to $300 citations, similar to speeding tickets, to those caught with illegal fireworks and charge felony crimes for fireworks incidents that lead to injuries or death.
Honolulu police have said that a shortage of patrol officers to enforce existing laws complicates enforcement. There are way more people launching illegal aerials and lighting display fireworks on New Year’s Eve than there are police officers to hand out citations and make arrests.
In 2000, state lawmakers banned all aerial fireworks, except for official public displays. The Honolulu City Council banned all fireworks except for firecrackers in 2011.
“The Department of the Attorney General supports Honolulu Police in its diligent efforts to make Oahu safe,” state Attorney General Anne E. Lopez told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
