Category: O’ahu

The accused rapists are members of the military-associated hip hop group/gang known as ABYSS.

ABYSS
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http://artists.iuma.com/IUMA/Bands/Abyssmen/index-0.html

ABYSS is a family comprised of fifteen (15) members. This includes eight (8) rappers (Masterful Shabbar, Pnal, Blac Mist, Gilla, Soul Sorcerer, Vonstar Killaton, Zodiac Killah, & A-Killah), A Production & Publishing team (Redbone Production & Publishing), Management (ABYSS Entertainment), & a Record Co. (A-NA Wreckards). This makes a total of nine (9) acts; one as an entire group & eight (8) solo acts. A.B.Y.S.S. =A band of young swift soloists.

Being that members’ roots lie in such diverse parts of this country (i.e. New York, Chicago, Kansas City, Oakland, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Tacoma, Louisiana, L.A., & even Hawaii), each member offers distinct influence which in total creates and cultivates this strong founded sound, which is of its own, in a class of its own. The songs, solely produced by ABYSS, offers an insight into the life, ideas & ideals of ABYSS, presented in truth, delivered with an unprecedented fluidity, these depictions serve as the voice(s) of ABYSS.

It is often said that ABYSS has been blessed with apocalyptic & prophetic attributes expressed deeply within its songs. Whether through freestyling or a recording, live or not, with the innate ability to manifest raw unadulterated Hip-Hop, ABYSS proves to be among the cream. It is fact, clear & evident, that this industry awaits relief & refreshment from the monotonous & mediocre. The world impatiently awaits! With hard-hitting lyrics, diverse subject matter & lyrical content, & a music style unlike any other, ABYSSmen have the cure – ABYSS!

ABYSS, which cannot be measured, is not set as the measure itself. Hearing is believing!!

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Wednesday, May 10, 2000

Gang-rape trial ends in prison term, probation

By Debra Barayuga
Star-Bulletin

One man convicted in the 1998 gang-rape of a 17-year-old girl is sentenced to prison while another defendant receives probation.

Judge Sandra Simms yesterday sentenced Mario Crawley, 28, to two 10-year terms for second-degree assault and second-degree attempted assault, to be served concurrently.

Habib Shabazz, 22, was given probation and allowed to return to the Big Island, but not before Simms delivered a stinging rebuke and a promise to lock him up if he fails to abide by the court’s conditions.

“If you screw this up, you will be at Halawa (Community Correctional Facility),” Simms said.

The two were convicted by a jury in March of lesser sexual assault charges in the October 1998 attack at a Waikiki hotel room. The men contended the sex was consensual.

The state had argued the girl exercised poor judgment by agreeing to go to their hotel room, but that didn’t mean she lost her right to say “No” to sex.

Crawley yesterday said he is appealing the conviction and that more of the truth has yet to be revealed.

Crawley’s attorney, Michael Green, yesterday argued that the facts in the case did not warrantan extended or consecutive term. Crawley is currently serving time for a firearms offense.

Deputy Prosecutor Jean Ireton noted that Crawley’s past shows a history of “thumbing his nose at the court” and asked that he serve an extended 20-year term of incarceration, to be served consecutively, and a minimum three years and four months for being a repeat felony offender.

Simms noted that while the jury did not convict the men of first-degree sex assault as charged, “there is credible evidence on the record to support their finding” for second-degree assault.

While the facts about the incident were “disturbing, offensive,” she agreed with Green that it didn’t rise to a level that called for an extended sentence.

Simms did feel, however, that Crawley deserved a minimum term of imprisonment of three years and four months.

It will be up to the Hawaii Paroling Authority to decide how long he will actually serve.

As for Shabazz, the state contended that his refusal to take responsibility for his actions or acknowledge that the incident happened “argued strongly for prison time,” Ireton said. Shabazz was on probation for a burglary conviction on the Big Island that occurred shortly after he turned 18.

Shabazz, Crawley and a codefendant who was acquitted have been identified as belonging to Abyss, whose members have been arrested for promoting prostitution and drugs.

What angered her most, Simms said, was that Shabazz had the resources and supportive family that many other defendants who come before her don’t have, but he didn’t take advantage of it.

“You blew off your family, you blew off this court,” she told Shabazz.

Source: http://archives.starbulletin.com/2000/05/10/news/story13.html

Friday, January 28, 2000

Schofield soldier found guilty in pregnant wife’s murder

However, the military jury rejected the prosecution’s argument that the killing was premeditated

By Gregg K. Kakesako
Star-Bulletin

A military jury has found a Schofield Barracks soldier guilty of the unpremeditated murder of his pregnant wife.

Staff Sgt. Timothy Ward, 34, faces a maximum prison term of life without parole.

The six-member jury returned the verdict last night after hearing four days of testimony and deliberating for about four hours.

The panel, composed of three officers and three enlisted soldiers, was scheduled to begin a sentencing hearing today at Schofield Barracks.

Ward was charged with premeditated murder and accused of stabbing his estranged wife, Bianca, 15 times five months ago and then beating her skull in with a blunt instrument. The weapons were never found.

His attorney argued Ward “snapped” when faced with the possibility of losing his 19-month-old son and killed his wife during an argument in their Helemano home.

“This is a case and crime of the heart,” Maj. Claes Lewenhaupt told the five-man, one-woman jury.

In his 35-minute closing argument, military prosecutor Maj. Saul Contreras charged that Ward — a 13-year Army veteran from Georgia — planned to kill his wife, who was in the last trimester with the couple’s second child, after losing a custody battle for their son, Damian.

Contreras said Ward went to pick up his son on Aug. 26 and got into an argument with his German-born wife. He later confessed to Army investigators that he killed her.

“There is so much evidence to show that it was the accused who was the attacker and not Bianca Ward,” Contreras said.

“He was armed. He had a weapon. He stabbed her. She was unarmed.”

Contreras added that Ward, who didn’t take the stand, on several occasions last year told fellow 25th Infantry Division soldiers that he wanted to kill his wife because she wanted to return to Germany with their son.

He even told an Army mental health specialist last year that he wanted to strangle her.

But Lewenhaupt argued that “this was a crime of passion caused by adequate provocation” and Ward should be convicted of voluntary manslaughter.

“The bond between Staff Sgt. Ward and son Damian was bigger than life,” Lewenhaupt added.

Lewenhaupt, in his 40-minute closing argument, said Ward was holding Damian in the hallway of the couple’s second-floor apartment at 2900 Akoaakoa Court when his wife came after him with a dental instrument.

“At this moment Sgt. Ward snaps,” said Lewenhaupt, in describing the couple’s more than year-long custody battle.

But in rebuttal, Contreras labeled Lewenhaupt’s explanation as “ludicrous and laughable” because Ward in his five-page statement to Army investigators never mentioned his wife attacking him.

“It is fanciful wishes of the defense that it was in a fit of rage,” Contreras said.

Source: http://archives.starbulletin.com/2000/01/28/news/story12.html

Wednesday, November 10, 1999

Soldier ‘had feelings of hatred’ before wife’s slaying

By Gregg K. Kakesako
Star-Bulletin

Ten days before Army Staff Sgt. Timothy Ward allegedly stabbed and bludgeoned to death his pregnant German-born wife, he sought the help of a mental health specialist because he was afraid he would harm her.

During the second day of an Army Article 32 hearing yesterday, Sgt. Gerald Faletic, a Schofield Barracks mental health specialist, said Ward came to him for counseling on Aug. 16 “because he had feelings of hatred … (of) wanting to hurt his wife, and felt uncomfortable talking to chaplain.”

Faletic said Ward, 33, acting platoon sergeant with Company C, 2nd Battalion, 27th Regiment, was concerned at the counseling session “about his thoughts, and whether they were normal or abnormal.”

Faletic said the 25th Division soldier was fearful his estranged wife, Bianca, would win the custody battle for their 18-month-old son, Damian, and that she would return to Germany and he would never see his son again.

Ward made another appointment for a follow-up session for Aug. 26, after a child-custody hearing.

But on that day, Ward lost the battle for his son and allegedly killed his wife. He now is facing premeditated murder charges and the possibility of a death sentence.

Bianca Ward’s body was found in the second-floor bedroom of the couple’s Helemano Military Reservation apartment. She had been stabbed repeatedly in the chest and her skull had been crushed.

After hearing 11 hours of testimony, Maj. Wally Clark, the Article 32 hearing officer, now must determine if there is probable cause to send Ward to a court-martial to face the premeditated murder charge.

Maj. Claes Lewenhaupt, one of Ward’s two defense attorneys, said in his closing argument yesterday that “this was a crime of passion and a crime of rage … not one that was coolly premeditated.”

He pointed out that since Damian was born, Ward and his wife have been in “a tumultuous divorce and custody battle,” noting Bianca in July 1998 fled the islands, taking with her Damian and large sums of money from the couple’s bank account.

Military criminal investigators during the two days of hearings said Ward filed charges in international court and in Germany to try to get his son back, charges that were dropped when his wife agreed to return to Hawaii in January.

But Staff Sgt. Benjamin Davis — who has known Ward for more than a year — said that on Aug. 26 after returning from the Family Court hearing, Ward admitted “he had lost it all” because the court had given custody of Damian to his wife.

Several hours later, just before 7 p.m., Davis said Ward came to his Waikele apartment with Damian, saying he wanted to talk.

“‘Me and Bianca got into it,'” Davis recalled Ward saying. ” ‘We had an altercation. … You have to take me to the MP (military police) station.’ ”

Under further questioning, Davis testified that Ward said “he pushed her and then he left. When he came back, he saw blood and panicked.”

“At times he was crying when he was talking, and he was like in a state of shock,” Davis said.

Maj. Saul Contreras, the prosecutor, referred to a diary — written in German and maintained by Bianca — which talked about verbal intimidation and death threats by her husband.

Source: http://archives.starbulletin.com/1999/11/10/news/story9.html

Monday, November 8, 1999

By Ken Sakamoto, Star-Bulletin
Staff Sgt. Timothy Ward, right, entering the U.S.
Army Courthouse at Schofield Barracks.

Soldier may face court-martial

Sgt. Timothy Ward allegedly murdered his pregnant wife at their home in Helemano

By Gregg K. Kakesako
Star-Bulletin

A 25th Infantry Division soldier this morning was to face a military judge who will determine whether there is sufficient evidence to hold a court-martial on charges that he stabbed his pregnant wife to death.

Staff Sgt. Timothy Ward, 33, is accused of murdering his 26-year-old wife, Bianca, during an argument Aug. 26 in the couple’s home in Helemano Military Reservation.

The couple was going through a divorce when the 13-year Army veteran allegedly stabbed his wife.

In court documents Bianca Ward charged that her husband used controlling behavior such as verbal intimidation, harassment and threats, denied her the use of their cars and phone and prevented her from using the couple’s bank accounts.

Ward denied threatening her. He said she had once left him with their 1-year-old son to return to her home in Germany in 1998 and that she had run up $600 phone bills and withdrawn large sums of money.

Bianca Ward had been awarded temporary custody of the couple’s son the morning of the incident.

Ward was an infantry squad leader with the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry. He has been in the Ford Island brig since Aug. 26.

Source: http://archives.starbulletin.com/1999/11/08/news/story10.html

Friday, October 15, 1999

Schofield soldier could face death penalty in wife’s slaying

By Gregg K. Kakesako
Star-Bulletin

A 25th Infantry Division sergeant could be the first military person in decades in Hawaii to face the death penalty if convicted of beating and stabbing his wife to death.

Staff Sgt. Timothy Ward, an infantry squad leader with the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry, yesterday was charged with the premeditated murder of his pregnant 26-year-old wife, Bianca, during a fight.

Capt. Richard Spiegle, a Schofield Barracks spokesman, said an Article 32 hearing, similar to a civilian grand jury and preliminary hearing, will be conducted to determine whether a court-martial will be held.

It will be up to Maj. Gen. William Ward, commanding general of the 25th Infantry Division, to determine whether the Army will seek the death penalty.

Spiegle said he couldn’t remember the last time the death penalty in a federal military crime has been invoked locally.

Timothy Ward, 33, and his wife were going through a divorce and were expecting their second child this month. She had wanted to return to her home in Germany to await the birth of the child. They also had 1-year-old son.

On Aug. 26, Bianca Ward allegedly was repeatedly stabbed by her husband during an argument at their Helemano Military reservation townhouse.

The couple’s son is believed to have been present during the fight. She had been awarded temporary custody of their son that same morning.

She had charged that her husband used controlling behavior such as verbal intimidation, harassment and threats, denying her the use of their cars, and the phone, and preventing her access to their bank accounts.

Sgt. Ward, a 13-year Army veteran, denied threatening her. He said she left him with their son and returned to Germany in June 1998. He said she had accumulated $600 phone bills to Germany, had withdrawn large sums of money, and left their new car at the airport.

Sgt. Ward remains in the Navy’s Ford Island brig.

Source: http://archives.starbulletin.com/1999/10/15/news/story11.html

http://archives.starbulletin.com/1999/09/10/news/briefs.html

Police/Fire

By Star-Bulletin staff

Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers

Police illustration

Witness descriptions resulted in this sketch
of the man last seen with Evelyn Luka.

Man who left nightclub with attempted-murder victim might be in military

Star-Bulletin staff

Police are seeking a man who was seen leaving a Kapiolani nightclub with attempted-murder victim Evelyn Luka.

Witnesses at the Venus Night Club at 1349 Kapiolani Boulevard said Luka left with the man whose short haircut and cleancut appearance may indicate he is in military service, said Detective Alex Garcia.

Police released a sketch of the man described as appearing 30 to 35 years old, about 5 feet 10 inches tall, and 185 pounds.

The pair left the club about 12:30 a.m. Monday and were seen getting into a late model green Nissan Pathfinder with a windshield sticker that may have been military, the detective said.

Garcia said the man may not be a suspect but may have given Luka a ride to another location. He was recognized as an occasional customer in the club.

Luka, 20, of Salt Lake remains in critical condition at Queen’s Hospital with internal injuries so severe that the case was classified an attempted homicide. She was found at 8 a.m. Monday at the edge of the Ka Uka Boulevard exit from H-2 freeway.

Garcia said that a club stamp on Luka’s arm was determined to be from the Venus Night Club where she was recognized as a frequent customer. Witnesses said Luka and the man were seen talking and holding hands in the club.

“She is a vivacious person and was seen holding hands with other people,” Garcia said.

Luka called her husband at home at 12:30 a.m., saying she would catch a ride home with a friend, police said.

The man, or anyone who can identify him, is asked to call Garcia at 529-3390, or CrimeStoppers, 955-8300.

Tuesday, August 31, 1999

No signs of violence seen before stabbing

But a pregnant mother was murdered and her husband is being held

By Debra Barayuga
Star-Bulletin

To court officials, Timothy and Bianca Ward, going through a divorce, showed no signs of domestic violence.

Apparently until Thursday.

That morning, the military couple appeared in Family Court, and Bianca Ward was awarded temporary custody of their 1-year-old son, allowing him to accompany her to her hometown in Germany. She was also expecting a second child in October and wanted to give birth there, where she had the support of family members.

That evening, Bianca Ward, 26, was found dead with stab wounds at her Helemano Military Reservation apartment. Her unborn child did not survive.

Her toddler son may have been present when she was killed and is now in Child Protective Services’ custody. Husband Timothy Ward is being held by military authorities in connection with her death.

“Sometimes, even with the best of intentions, we cannot protect all the people from each other or themselves,” wrote Dennis Chun, Family Court bailiff supervisor, in documents filed in the couple’s divorce file, a day after Ward was murdered. “Sadly this may be such a case.”

Bianca Ward apparently had not expressed any concern to her attorney, Paul Tomar, the records state. The issue of domestic violence did not come up at the couple’s scheduled court hearings, including Thursday’s hearing before Family Court Judge Allene Suemori.

Suemori said Ward “appeared unhappy with her situation but did not express any concern for her safety,” wrote Chun.

“From all concerned, there were no signs or fears that (Timothy Ward) would resolve his situation in such a violent way.”

Filed for divorce

Timothy Ward, 33, an infantry squad leader in the U.S. Army, filed for divorce from his wife of three years on April 23. On the complaint, he checked off the box that stated the marriage was irretrievably broken.

In April, Tomar filed a motion for pre-decree relief, checking an item on the document requesting a temporary restraining order and going into detail why he sought a protection order for Bianca Ward.

According to Bianca Ward, her husband used controlling behavior such as verbal intimidation, harassment and threats by denying her use of the couple’s cars, the phone or preventing her from accessing their bank accounts.

He also changed their phone number without her knowledge, put a block on all long-distance calls made from their phone, and controlled all expenses, such as grocery shopping, the records say.

Restraining order granted

His control over her emotional, economical and physical well-being resulted in a state of false imprisonment, put her in a constant state of fear and stress and put the safety of her unborn child at risk, Tomar wrote.

A restraining order was granted by the court May 5. But it never came up again, even at the Aug. 26 hearing.

In an affidavit in response to Bianca Ward’s statements, Timothy Ward denies ever threatening his wife physically or verbally. While they have had disagreements or exchanged harsh words, he has never harassed her, nor would he place his son and unborn child in an unsafe situation, he wrote.

But he said he had to take steps to ensure what happened in June 1998 would not happen again.

Last June, his wife had left for Germany with their son without his knowledge. He sought legal recourse through the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction and went to Berlin for a hearing on the case. His wife agreed to return to Hawaii on condition he drop the parental abduction charge and help her obtain permanent immigration status.

He said before she fled, she ran up a $600 phone bill calling Germany, withdrew a large amount from their bank account and left their new car parked at the airport. So he put a long-distance block on the phone, closed their joint bank accounts and destroyed her automated teller machine card. He refused to give her money until he learned she was sending food to Germany.

He denied cutting off her access to prenatal or medical care. “I believe I have acted legally and morally toward my wife,” he stated.

Could not understand

He could not understand why she wanted to leave for Germany after she learned she was pregnant in February. Her doctor also had advised her that she shouldn’t be traveling long distances after Sept. 2.

“She seems anxious to leave me and the United States and to not let me have a chance to see the new baby,” he wrote, indicating he was having doubts about the baby’s paternity and sought to have the issue resolved.

In a report by Mitchell Werth, guardian ad litem of the couple’s 1-year-old boy, the couple seemed to be willing to settle issues, including paternity of the unborn child, allowing Timothy Ward more time with the couple’s son, short and long-term visitation and custody.

The couple attended a 2–hour mediation session Aug. 19 where they appeared to make good progress, Werth reported.

They worked out a settlement where they would have joint legal custody of their son, but with primary custody to Bianca Ward. But at the end of their session, Timothy Ward reverted to his earlier desire to have his son for six months, followed by six months with his mother.

The toddler cried as they left the mediation session, but Timothy Ward would not permit his mother to comfort him, Werth noted. While there was no question the father loved his child, he failed to show the emotional sharing and nurturing his wife exhibited, Werth wrote.

Timothy Ward was given until the next day to accept the proposed settlement but he didn’t respond.

Chun’s preliminary report Friday indicated he saw no fault in the way the court handled the case. “It is important to remember that in addressing this issue of domestic violence, we are only as good as the evidence before us,” Chun wrote. “In this case there was no evidence of violence.”

Source: http://archives.starbulletin.com/1999/08/31/news/story6.html