HONOLULU (AP) - The Latest on a dangerous Hawaii man who escaped from the state psychiatric hospital (all times local):
5 p.m.
Seven hospital employees are on unpaid leave while officials investigate how a patient who admitted to a 1979 killing escaped and flew to California over the weekend.
The state says that as the investigation continues, more Hawaii State Hospital employees may be taken off duty.
The suspensions come after Randall Saito left the hospital Sunday morning, took a taxi to a chartered flight bound for Maui and then boarded another plane to San Jose, California. He was arrested in Stockton, California, on Wednesday.
Hawaii Department of Health Director Virginia Pressler says an internal investigation indicates employees inadvertently or intentionally neglected proper notification of supervisors and proper supervision of Saito.
It took the hospital at least eight hours to notify law enforcement that he was missing.
Pressler says the escape was a major breakdown of staff protocols.
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12:20 p.m.
Employees of a Hawaii psychiatric hospital will be placed on unpaid leave for 30 days while authorities investigate how a patient who was tried for murder escaped and flew to California over the weekend.
The suspensions come after Randall Saito left the Hawaii State Hospital on Sunday morning. He was arrested in California on Wednesday after taking two flights to get there.
Hawaii Department of Health Director Virginia Pressler says an internal investigation indicates employees inadvertently or intentionally neglected proper notification of supervisors and proper supervision of Saito.
It took the hospital at least eight hours to notify law enforcement that he was missing.
Pressler says the escape was a major breakdown of staff protocols.
Gov. David Ige says authorities and the public should have been notified much sooner. He says he’s directed the attorney general to investigate.
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11 a.m.
Court records say a man captured in California after escaping from a Hawaii psychiatric hospital had relationships with three hospital staff members over the years.
A 2010 evaluation of Randall Saito by a psychiatrist says Saito had six significant relationships since he was committed to the Hawaii State Hospital in 1981.
The assessment by Dr. Gene Altman said three of the relationships were reportedly with women in the community, including Saito’s first and second wives.
The evaluation said the other three were reportedly with hospital staff members.
Altman said Saito can be personable and has good social skills.
Saito was acquitted of a 1979 murder by reason of insanity.
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10:24 a.m.
A California law enforcement agency says a man who escaped from a psychiatric hospital in Hawaii was captured in the city of Stockton as the result of a tip from an alert taxi cab driver.
The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department says in a statement that deputies arrested Randall Saito around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.
The department posted a photograph on social media showing Saito surrounded by three deputies at a gas station.
Saito was acquitted of a 1979 murder by reason of insanity and committed to the Hawaii State Hospital.
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9:25 a.m.
Honolulu police say a man who escaped from a psychiatric hospital in Hawaii has been captured in California.
Honolulu CrimeStoppers Sgt. Chris Kim says he was notified that Randall Saito was apprehended Wednesday.
Saito was acquitted of a 1979 murder by reason of insanity and committed to the Hawaii State Hospital in 1981.
Honolulu police say he left the hospital Sunday, took a cab to a chartered plane to Maui. There, he got on a flight to California. Police say he arrived in San Jose two hours before hospital staff reported his disappearance.
Kim says CrimeStoppers received a tip that Saito was headed to a brother’s house in Stockton, California. Honolulu police then forwarded that information to authorities in Stockton.
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4:41 a.m.
A Hawaii psychiatric patient acquitted of murder now faces a felony escape charge after walking away from a mental hospital and fleeing to California.
Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin says officers in all 50 states may enforce the arrest warrant against 59-year-old Randall Saito.
Authorities say Saito left the Hawaii State Hospital on Oahu on Sunday, and took a cab to the airport for a chartered flight to Maui. There, he got on an airliner and arrived in San Jose, California, arriving two hours before the hospital reported him missing.
Late Tuesday night, the Hawaii Attorney General’s office charged Saito with felony escape and issued a $500,000 bench warrant for his arrest.
Chin called Saito “a dangerous individual” who needs to be off the streets.
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10:09 p.m.
Police believe a man acquitted of a 1979 murder by reason of insanity is in Northern California after he escaped from a Hawaii psychiatric hospital, took a taxi to a chartered plane to Maui and then boarded another plane to San Jose.
Honolulu police say Randall Saito is dangerous and shouldn’t be approached.
It wasn’t immediately known how he was able to charter a plane. Police wouldn’t provide details about his flight to California.
Police say hospital staff reported Saito’s disappearance two hours after he landed in San Jose on Sunday.
Hawaii State Hospital Administrator William May said officials are fully cooperating with law enforcement and appropriate steps would be taken if Saito had help from someone inside the facility.
Saito was committed to the hospital outside Honolulu in 1981.
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