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PSD NEWS RELEASE - Inmate escapes from Waiawa Correctional Facility

Government and Politics

February 16, 2023

From: Hawaii Governor Josh Green, M.D.

HONOLULU, HI – At approximately 10:25 p.m. last night, Waiawa Correctional Facility (WCF) front gate security staff reported seeing an individual outside the facility perimeter fence. The individual ran when told to stop. An emergency headcount was conducted, and staff reported inmate Pono Kaleikini missing from the headcount. They locked down the facility. Adult Corrections Officers did a search of the grounds and road outside the facility and notified State Sheriffs and Honolulu Police. How he escaped the facility is under investigation.

Kaleikini is 26 years-old, weighs 130 lbs., and is 5’6” tall.  He has brown eyes and brown hair. Kaleikini is a minimum custody inmate serving time for Promotion of a Dangerous Drug 3. His next parole hearing is scheduled for December 2023. 

Waiawa Correctional Facility is a minimum security, work-camp style facility with dorms for sentenced males. Inmates participate in education or substance abuse treatment programs as they prepare to transition into the furlough program.