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2 arrested in federal drug, road rage case

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2 arrested in federal drug, road rage case


Federal agents arrested two men last week and seized guns and methamphetamine in connection with an April 9 road rage incident and an ongoing investigation into an alleged drug trafficking organization being run out of homes and businesses on the Waianae Coast.

Sheysten James Ikaika
Joseph, 22, was arrested by a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent on suspicion of being a felon in possession of ammunition in connection with an April 9 road rage incident near Ko Olina where Joseph was the passenger in a car driven by Seth Zachary Owens, 22, who allegedly pointed a ghost gun at a woman and her three children.

Owens was indicted
May 25 on suspicion of being a felon in possession of ammunition and is at the Federal Detention Center, Honolulu, before his trial starts at 9 a.m. July 24 before U.S. District Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi.

Arrested with Joseph was Brenon Kilinoe Joseph Nash, 32.

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Nash is charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and being a felon in possession of a firearm after federal agents allegedly found two guns, cannabis and a pound of methamphetamine in a car registered to Nash.

“During questioning, investigators asked Brenon Nash why he had been in possession of two firearms, to which he responded in substance that he felt it was dangerous in the Waianae area, that many individuals carried firearms, and that he had them for protection in order to defend himself, his family, and his drug trafficking activities, to prevent him from being robbed due to his possession of drugs and drug proceeds,” according to an affidavit by a DEA agent.

Nicole K. Nishida, a DEA spokesperson, declined comment.

The pair made their initial appearances in federal court Monday morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Wes Reber Porter. A hearing on the government’s motion to detain them before trial is set for 10:30 a.m. Thursday in Reber Porter’s court.

Both Joseph and Nash are on state probation in connection with a Nov. 20, 2019, fight that led to the deadly shooting of 39-year-old
Micaiah McCullah, a father of seven children and a youth football coach, who was killed during the brawl.

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They were originally charged with second-­degree attempted murder for allegedly firing handguns at another man during the early-­evening scrap at the park on Manuku Street.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael F. Albanese, who is prosecuting the case for the government, declined comment. Joseph’s attorney. Rustam A. Barbee, did not immediately reply to a Star-Advertiser request for comment. Nash’s attorney, Neal J. Kugiya, declined comment.

The DEA and Homeland Security Investigations are working with Honolulu
police on an ongoing
investigation into a drug trafficking organization that resulted in the execution of search warrants in April at the home and affiliated businesses of a Waianae family that is one of the targets of the investigation.

At a community meeting on crime in Maili on Wednesday, Sabrina Grace-Dereis, who claimed she was a former federal informant, gave binders to HPD Narcotics/Vice Major Mike Lambert, City Council member Andria Tupola and Hono­lulu Prosecuting Attorney Steve Alm that contained pictures of the man whose property was searched by police and federal agents, his alleged personal affiliations and a business that is allegedly used to launder drug money.

On May 30, DEA agents got an arrest warrant for
Joseph in connection with the Ko Olina road rage incident. Two days later, on Thursday, DEA agents and Honolulu Police Department officers conducted an operation in Waianae to arrest
Joseph.

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During the course of the operation, a car known to
be associated with Joseph was seen driving through Makaha. Agents and officers followed the car to figure out whether Joseph was
in it.

Law enforcement officers followed the car until it parked in the driveway of a residence. They identified Joseph when he stepped out of the front passenger compartment of the vehicle. Moments later, officers saw Joseph return to the front passenger seat of the
vehicle.

Officers positioned their vehicles in a manner that blocked the vehicle from driving away. Officers ordered Joseph to get out of the car and placed him under arrest.

While Joseph was getting out of the car, officers said they saw Brenon Nash in the driver’s seat and a scale with cannabis on the center console. During the search of the vehicle, officers said they discovered a small bag containing two firearms under the driver’s seat, where Nash had been seated moments earlier.

The first was a
Magnum Research Inc. semi-automatic handgun.

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The handgun bore an inscription that read, “Made in Israel.” The second firearm was a Glock-style, privately manufactured handgun, also known as a “ghost gun.” Both firearms contained magazines loaded with
ammunition.

The car was registered to Nash, and Nash reportedly told agents the bag with the guns belonged to him.

On May 17, Joseph was convicted of first-degree assault and place to keep
pistol or revolver, and sentenced to five years of probation on each count. Nash is also on five years of probation after he was convicted in the same state case of attempted first-degree
assault and place to keep pistol or revolver.

In that case, Nash and
Joseph were part of a group of 10 to 20 men who came to the park for a prearranged fight at the park’s basketball court, according to court
records.

Detectives talked to a man and other witnesses who identified Nash and
Joseph as firing their revolver-type handguns at the man, according to state court documents. Honolulu Emergency Services Department reported responding to a scene where multiple shots were fired at about 7:10 p.m. that night in 2019.

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McCullah suffered gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.





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Pregnant mom, husband drown on Hawaii vacation, leaving behind their 18-month-old son

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Pregnant mom, husband drown on Hawaii vacation, leaving behind their 18-month-old son


Young parents to an 18-month-old son and an unborn baby girl tragically drowned Saturday while vacationing in Hawaii.

Washington residents Ilya and Sophia Tsaruk — who was pregnant with their second child — died in the waters off Maui while swimming in the tropical paradise, according to the local fire department and their loved ones.

Maui firefighters and ocean rescue teams were called to respond to a report of “swimmers/snorkelers in distress” at Ahihi-Kinau Natural Area Reserve just after noon, the department said.

Ilya and Sophia Tsaruk were parents to an 18-month-old son Logan and were expecting a daughter when the couple drowned. GoFundMe

The emergency responders found Sophia, 26, unresponsive in the water and rushed her to shore where firefighters administered CPR.

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They were told she was with her husband — who was nowhere to be found — and headed back into the ocean to search for him.

Ilya, 25, was soon found at the bottom of the sea roughly 100 to 150 yards from shore, fire officials said. He was carried back to land, where emergency teams began CPR on him as well.

But neither Sophia or Ilya began breathing again. They were pronounced dead at the beach — with Sophia’s unborn child also dead, the Maui County Fire Department said.

The couple leaves behind their 18-month-old son Logan who was staying with his aunt and uncle while his parents were in Maui, according to a GoFundMe campaign created to cover funeral costs.

Ilya and Sophia Tsaruk drowned off the waters of Maui while on vacation from Washington state. Shutterstock
Sophia Tsaruk was remembered for having the “voice of an angel.” Instagram/@sophikovv

The young parents were greatly involved in their church and loved God, according to the fundraising page.

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“Ilya and Sophia both loved the Lord and were always serving in the church and serving people around them,” Andrey Tupikov wrote in the campaign description in both English and Russian.

“Sophia had the voice of an angel, and together with Ilya, they sang in a worship group in their church.”

The GoFundMe had outraised its $100,000 goal by more than $6,000, as of Tuesday evening.

The donations will be used to cover the cost of transporting Ilya and Sophia’s bodies from Hawaii to Washington state, according to its creator.

“We are blessed to have had both of them in our lives and are left now with the sweet memories and moments that we shared together with them. Their serving spirit and warm company will never be forgotten, and may God help us all to love and serve one another as Ilya and Sophia served,” Tupikov wrote.

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Hawaii's Kilauea volcano is erupting again in a remote part of a national park

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Hawaii's Kilauea volcano is erupting again in a remote part of a national park


This photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey, captured during a Hawaiian Volcano Observatory helicopter flyover Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, shows the eruption in Kilauea’s middle East Rift Zone in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii. (A. Ellis/U.S. Geological Survey via AP)



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Hawaii man in alleged assassination attempt asked Iran to kill Trump | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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Hawaii man in alleged assassination attempt asked Iran to kill Trump | Honolulu Star-Advertiser




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