Police last night were looking for a suspect following a fatal beating in Ma'ili.

The incident happened about 9:40 p.m. at a home on Hakeakea Street. Details were not immediately available, but emergency personnel reported that the man suffered serious head injuries and was taken to the Wai'anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center in critical condition.

Police said the man died at the health center. The victim appeared to be in his 50s, said Bryan Cheplic, spokesman for the city Emergency Services Department.

Police issued an all-points bulletin for a man believed to be involved in the beating. He is described as 5 feet 11, 220 pounds and was wearing a red shirt and black shorts. He was last seen walking on Hakeakea Street toward Farrington Highway.

MAN FOUND OFF KAHALA IDENTIFIED

The man whose body was recovered Thursday night off Kahala Beach has been identified as Robert Reggio, 65, of Honolulu.

The Medical Examiner's office said Reggio died of asphyxia from salt water due to drowning.

A Fire Department helicopter crew spotted Reggio about 150 yards offshore about 9:30 p.m. Thursday, roughly half an hour after receiving a report of someone calling for help from the water.

ROY NAMED TO NEW AIR FORCE POST

Chief Master Sgt. James A. Roy, the senior enlisted leader at Camp Smith, will become the 16th chief master sergeant of the Air Force, according to the Air Force's Web site.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton A. Schwartz and Chief Master Sgt. Rodney J. McKinley made the announcement yesterday in Washington, D.C.

Roy, a 27-year Air Force veteran, becomes the most senior enlisted man or woman in the Air Force. He will assume his new duties during an appointment ceremony June 30, which will coincide with McKinley's retirement.

KING, ROCK PYTHON SNAKES CONFISCATED

The state Department of Agriculture's Plant Quarantine Branch yesterday confiscated two snakes from a Sierra Drive home.

A 2-foot-long king snake and what has tentatively been identified as a 4-foot rock python, both nonvenomous, were taken after the Department of Agriculture obtained a search warrant for the home based on information received from confidential sources.

The operation involved assistance from the state attorney general's office, the Public Safety Department, the Honolulu Police Department, U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife. No arrests were made and an investigation is ongoing.

CAUSE OF HAWAI'I KAI FIRE DETERMINED

A cigarette or other type of smoking material tossed in a wastebasket is the probable cause of Wednesday's fire that damaged a Hawai'i Kai home, the Fire Department said yesterday.

The fire at 157 Anapalau St. caused an estimated $300,000 in damage to the house and $30,000 in loss to the residents' belongings.

In an earlier case, the Fire Department determined that a grill burner that was accidentally left on probably caused the April 13 fire at Bob's Big Boy restaurant in Mapunapuna.

Officials estimated the loss at $1 million to the building and $500,000 to the contents.