OCCC inmate captured after nearly 11-hour manhunt

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – An inmate who escaped from the Oahu Community Correctional Center Wednesday morning was captured after a manhunt that lasted nearly 11 hours.

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Joseph Tauilemua, 20, was arrested on military property at around 8 p.m. by Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam police, according to the Honolulu Police Department.

Tauilemua was discovered missing by OCCC staff around 9:45 a.m. following a visitation, according to Hawaii Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Director Tommy Johnson.

Sources said HPD received an anonymous tip that Tauilemua was seen running from the facility and behind the old Blood Bank building on Dillingham Boulevard where he changed out of his green uniform shirt.

Search spans multiple neighborhoods

HPD’s Specialized Services Division set up a staging area in Kalihi at Kaumualii Street and Puuhale Road. The department’s helicopter was seen circling OCCC multiple times, and police also deployed a drone at several locations.

Officers and police dogs were seen with a green uniform shirt as they searched for Tauilemua.

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Some businesses and Fern Elementary School went into lockdown.

Just before 4:30 p.m., HPD sent out an alert that said Tauilemua was last seen near Kamehameha Highway, near the Radford off-ramp.

Residents describe lack of information

During the search, police directed media inquiries to the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. No information from the state was released until the afternoon — four hours after the manhunt had started.

Hawaii News Now found that many people in the area were unaware of the escape.

Staff at Hou O Ke Ola (HAHOKO), a nonprofit rehabilitation program across the street from OCCC, said they did not know about the search and said they would go into lockdown after being alerted by Hawaii News Now.

“Oh my God. Shock, fear. There hasn’t been an escape from there for a little bit. Maybe 10 years the last time I remember. It’s kinda scary. I want to lock the doors,” said Kehau Bailey, HAHOKO program coordinator.

Shoppers said there was a complete lack of information.

“In a way I was surprised, because I didn’t hear anything about what he looked like, height, weight, color eyes. In other words, no description. How are you supposed to help?” said Maggie Kibota, who was shopping at Marukai.

Tauilemua had been arrested and charged with robbery in the second degree, accused of forcefully taking someone’s moped. He was awaiting trial later this month.

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