Jury indicts brothers of teen killed by police
HONOLULU — A grand jury on Wednesday indicted two older brothers of a 16-year-old who was shot and killed by Honolulu police.
The brothers are accused of assaulting and robbing a woman during the weekend near a makeshift memorial for Iremamber Sykap. The teen was driving a stolen car linked to a series of crimes when it rammed police vehicles and ended up in a canal after officers fired at it, police said.
Mark Sykap, 18, was charged with second-degree robbery.
“The indictment alleges that Mark Sykap robbed the woman of her valuables after she was assaulted by Maruo Sykap,” the Honolulu prosecuting attorney’s office said.
Maruo Sykap, 21, is charged with second-degree assault and remained at large.
Mark Sykap was released on $50,000 bond.
Police said two men used physical force and an unspecified dangerous instrument to force a 20-year-old woman to relinquish her property early Saturday.
The suspects and victim are acquaintances, police said.
The woman was treated and released at a hospital for a nonlife-threatening stab wound to her upper torso.
Arrest records show police arrested Mark Sykap on April 18 near the memorial site for investigation of disorderly conduct. According to court documents, the conduct involved “unreasonable noise.” He was released on his own recognizance and is scheduled to appear in court in June.
House quashes bill eliminating no-knock warrants
HONOLULU — The state House on Tuesday quashed a bill that would have eliminated no-knock warrants, a centerpiece of police reform legislation proposed in the wake of high-profile killings by police throughout the nation.
State lawmakers introduced the bill after learning about the death of Breonna Taylor, a Louisville, Ky., emergency medical worker who was shot after detectives busted down her apartment door in the middle of the night.
The bill would have required law enforcement to declare who they are and what they are doing when they serve a warrant, and then to wait 30 seconds before they enter a house, store or other building. The legislation would have required officers to wear uniforms and body cameras when serving warrants.
By voice vote, the House approved a motion to send the measure back to conference committee. But that effectively kills the bill because lawmakers won’t have enough time to rework it before the current legislative session ends today.
The Senate passed the legislation 23-2.
Josh Wisch, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii, said he would try to get lawmakers in the House to reconsider and to revive the bill before the session is finished.
Boy dies with COVID following trip to Hawaii
HONOLULU — A child who traveled to Hawaii with his vaccinated parents died after contracting COVID-19.
The state Department of Health said Tuesday that the boy was younger than 11 and had known underlying conditions.
“While we mourn all victims of COVID-19, today’s announcement of the death of a child from this virus is especially heartbreaking,” said Gov. David Ige in a statement. “Dawn and I express our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of this child.”
It was the first coronavirus-related death of a child in that age range in Hawaii.
Department of Health spokesman Brooks Baehr said the child began to show symptoms shortly after arriving in the state and was taken to a hospital, where he later died.
The child’s parents were fully vaccinated and were tested for COVID-19 before traveling to Hawaii.
“I can confirm that both parents had been tested and both had tested negative,” Baehr said. “Which indicates that this child was not infected by COVID from the parents.”
No further information about the case was released because of privacy laws, Baehr said.