Three inmates who reportedly escaped Friday in a stolen car from Hawaii Community Correctional Center’s Hale Nani Facility remained at large as of late Wednesday afternoon.
“There is some intel that we are working on,” Hawaii Police Chief Ben Moszkowicz said.
Moszkowicz didn’t specify the nature of the intel. He noted that no one witnessed 31-year-old Clyde Loa, 41-year-old Kawai Pomroy and 35-year-old Joseph Fernandez escape the minimum-security jail on Kanoelehua Avenue on the southern outskirts of Hilo.
The trio, and the car they allegedly escaped in — a gray 2014 Nissan Altima with Hawaii license plate number ZCK261, owned by a civilian employee of the facility — were noticed missing at about 4:30 p.m. Friday.
“Nobody knew they were gone until they were gone,” Moszkowicz said. “The car keys were left in an employees’ storage area, where the employees leave their belongings while they’re in the facility. And the inmates gained access to that, somehow.”
Loa, described as 5-feet-9-inches tall, 225 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, was in custody for multiple counts of auto theft and resisting an order to stop a motor vehicle.
Pomroy, described as 6-feet-2-inches tall, 260 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, was in custody for domestic abuse.
And Fernandez, described as 5-feet-11-inches tall, 195 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes, was in custody on probation revocation for a firearms offense.
It isn’t known whether the three had stayed together or gone their separate ways since the jailbreak, and police hadn’t recovered the stolen vehicle as of Wednesday afternoon, Moszkowicz said.
Moszkowicz also said detectives are working on obtaining Parras warrants for the escapees.
Moszkowicz described a Parras warrant — which is particular to Hawaii — as a legal instrument law enforcers seek to ensure probable cause is documented to allow for the arrest of individuals a number of days after an offense they are alleged to have committed occurred.
“Normally, if we see somebody doing something on view, then immediately after a crime, we can make an arrest based on probable cause that we see. It’s crazy, but in Hawaii case law, even if you have probable cause, after a certain amount of time, you can’t just go and arrest people,” the chief said. “ … Even though the crime happened a certain number of days ago, maybe longer than the usual amount of time, with this Parras warrant, which is signed by a judge, you still have probable cause.
“I hope we’re able to get them back in custody without anybody being injured or hurt.”
Police ask that anyone with information on the whereabouts of Loa, Pomroy or Fernandez call the police nonemergency number at (808) 935-3311 or Crime Stoppers at (808) 961-8300.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
