Stabbing suspect to get mental exam

A Honolulu district judge granted yesterday a mental examination requested by the lawyer for a 27-year-old Kalihi man accused of killing his mother with a knife.

Charlie D. Hernane made his initial court appearance before District Judge Leslie Hayashi. Hernane’s case was continued for 30 days while the examination is conducted.

Hernane is charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing death of his mother at their Eluwene Street home Wednesday.

Hernane’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender William Bagasol, told the court that he has had difficulty interviewing Hernane about the charges and is not sure what Filipino dialect the suspect speaks.

No bail was set for Hernane until his fitness to stand trial was determined by a mental examination.

Waianae man charged in fatal beating

A 45-year-old Waianae man accused of killing a homeless man at Aala Park made his initial court appearance yesterday morning.

Barney Kane is charged with manslaughter in the beating death of 45-year-old Gordon Lindberg at Aala Park on Wednesday. He is being held on $150,000 bail for manslaughter and a contempt of court warrant. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for tomorrow.

Kane gave himself up to police at the Kapolei substation Saturday afternoon.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Pedestrian dies of injuries from accident

A pedestrian died of injuries suffered when a car hit him in Kahului, Maui police said yesterday.

Stephen Frey, 27, of Wailuku died Saturday at about 5:30 p.m. at Maui Memorial Medical Center, police said.

Police said Frey was hit May 7 at 12:49 a.m. on Hana Highway, 485 feet north of Hansen Road, by a Honda Accord headed north. The driver, a 32-year-old man from Pukalani, was not hurt.

It was the fifth traffic fatality in Maui County this year, compared with seven at this time last year.

Ex-convict seen with gun gets new term

A Maui man who was seen with a loaded revolver two weeks after being released from prison was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison for that offense, the Maui News reported.

Robert Azure, 31, had just completed a five-year sentence in July 2009 when he was seen with a gun in his waistband as he left a bar at Kihei Kalama Village. He was not allowed to carry firearms because of his criminal history, which includes 46 arrests and 23 convictions.