Police hunt 2 escapees from Hilo jail

Two men were being sought Wednesday night by Hawaii County police after they assaulted a corrections officer at Hawaii Community Correctional Center in Hilo earlier in the day and sped off in a vehicle belonging to the jail’s librarian.

The two escapees were identified as Ryan James Jeffries-Hamar, 31, and Jarvis Higa, 35.

Both county police and state public safety officials described the men as dangerous. Higa also may be armed, police said.

Law enforcement officials urged the public to call 911 immediately if either man is spotted.

Police also warned motorists that one or both men could be seeking a ride from Hilo to the west side of the island.

Jeffries-Hamar is described as Caucasian, 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 170 pounds. He has short, reddish brown hair and blue eyes.

Higa is described as Japanese, 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighing 160 pounds. He has brown eyes, short black hair and tattoos on his arms and chest.

Higa was being held at the jail awaiting trial on an attempted murder charge, police said. He allegedly shot a Hilo man in July.

Jeffries-Hamar was serving a sentence for a parole violation.

Shortly before 10 a.m., the two inmates overpowered and assaulted a corrections officer in the jail’s library, threatened the librarian and took her car keys. They then forced their way out of the building, got into the librarian’s car and drove off, said state Public Safety Director Ted Sakai.

The corrections officer, 63, was taken to Hilo Medical Center, where he was treated for injuries not considered life threatening and released, police said. The librarian, 49, was not injured but is being offered counseling, Sakai said.

Corrections officers tried to follow the escapees but lost sight of them, police said. The vehicle was abandoned at the end of Kukuau Street in the Sunrise Ridge subdivision, about two miles from the jail.

The two men then took off on foot and were last seen near Alahenui Street and Kaumana Drive, police said.

At one point during the manhunt, police were told the escapees were seen near a home on the 800 block of Kaumana Drive. Officers found that the house had been broken into and a car in the garage that had been entered in an attempt to steal it.

The Puainako Street extension was closed to traffic for about two hours while police and correctional officers combed the area with the help of the Hawaii Fire Department helicopter. Kaumana Elementary School reportedly was on lockdown for a time.

Public safety officials are reviewing the escape and any security breaches that need to be fixed, Sakai said.

The case is being classified as escape, second-degree robbery, first-degree kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, operating a stolen vehicle and second-degree terroristic threatening.

Police ask that anyone with information about the escapees or anyone who may have witnessed the incident contact Detective Grant Todd at 961-2385 or gtodd@co.hawaii.hi.us. Callers can also dial 911 or CrimeStoppers anonymously at 961-8300 in Hilo or 329-8181 in Kona. Callers may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.