A 37-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to felony escape from Kahi Mohala Behavioral Health in Ewa Beach.
Gregory A. Labar appeared Monday before Judge Colette Garibaldi at Circuit Court via closed-circuit video link from the Oahu Community Correctional Center after he was charged with second-degree escape.
Labar allegedly escaped Kahi Mohala on the night of Sept. 28. Police arrested him in November for being in a Waikiki park after hours but released him a day later without knowledge of his escape.
Police caught Labar in Mililani last week in connection with a robbery of a 61-year-old woman.
Deputy Public Defender Alan Komagome pleaded not guilty to the escape charge on Labar’s behalf. Garibaldi set his trial for April and confirmed his $20,000 bail.
Shortly after 3:30 p.m. Jan. 22, police said, a woman was next to her vehicle at the Mililani Walmart parking lot when a male suspect later identified as Labar approached her and attempted to yank her purse off her shoulder, according to a court document.
A brief struggle occurred before Labar fled with the woman’s bag. Police said she screamed for help and chased Labar as he ran toward Consolidated Theaters at the Town Center of Mililani. Labar dropped the purse after a bystander grabbed his wrist. Police located and detained Labar at the Mililani Post Office parking lot, less than a mile away from the shopping center. An Oahu grand jury returned an indictment last week, charging him with second-degree robbery. He is due to appear in Circuit Court Thursday on the robbery charge.
Fire Department contains fire in Kalaeloa
Honolulu Fire Department personnel fought a wildland fire near the intersection of Roosevelt Avenue and Corregidor Street in Kalaeloa on Sunday.
The fire was reported at 4:30 p.m. and involved 2 to 3 acres of brush, according to an HFD report.
The fire was contained by 4:59 p.m.
No injuries were reported and no structures were threatened.
No foul play found in death of Kauai woman
Kauai police say they do not suspect foul play in the Dec. 31 death of a woman whose body was discovered by firefighters responding to a brush fire.
The case is classified as an unattended death. A toxicology report is also pending.
Police have made a preliminary identification but will use DNA testing to confirm her ID before releasing it to the public.
“KPD would like to thank the public for their assistance in this investigation, Assistant Chief Bryson Ponce said. “As a result of all the information gathered at this point, no foul play is suspected.”
