Guard’s gun missing from prison is recovered
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
Janelle Newcomb
DENNIS ODA/ JULY 25, 2014
Tower 4 at the Oahu Community Correctional Center is seen behind barbed wire in this 2013 photo.
Honolulu police recovered a hand gun today that disappeared from a restroom at Oahu Community Correctional Center.
Honolulu police and state deputy sheriffs earlier launched a search for a woman identified as a “person of interest” in connection with the missing firearm.
An OCCC adult correctional officer left a .38-caliber revolver in a public unisex restroom at the main entrance at about 1 p.m. When the officer went back to get it, the firearm was gone, said Toni Schwartz, Department of Public Safety spokeswoman.
A former pretrial detainee, Janelle Newcomb, 35, was seen in the area and was identified as a person of interest, according to a DPS news release.
She was located and arrested, and the gun was recovered Wednesday evening, Schwartz said.
Newcomb had been released from OCCC on Oct. 13 when her case for harassment, liquor in a public place and unauthorized possession of confidential personal information was dismissed. She was picking up personal belongings at OCCC today.
Schwartz said an administrative investigation has been opened, but the investigation was ongoing and she could not provide information on the officer and any possible disciplinary actions.
“This situation is one that we take very seriously,” said DPS Director Nolan Espinda in a statement. “A full investigation is being conducted so we can make sure safeguards are in place to prevent this from happening again.”
Schwartz said only correctional officers working outside the secured perimeter are permitted to carry firearms.
15 responses to “Guard’s gun missing from prison is recovered”
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I wonder if the gun was loaded. :-O
Of course and it came with a box of ammo. What kind of corrections officer leaves his weapon in a public restroom at OCCC?
Not hating on females or anything, but from reading the story and seeing the coverage on two different television news casts, the gender of the ACO wasn’t specified, so it could have been “his” or “her” revolver.
Do they issue revolvers with a box of ammo? Most of the armed ACOs’ I see have a revolver and what appears to be two speed loader pouches on their belt. Have never observed if there was anything in the pouches, just that they were there.
Why would an officer have a gun if they don’t have bullets?
Many, many reasons come to mind.
S N A F U
Our corrections personnel leaves a lot to be desired.
Good thing his di@k is attached to his body otherwise he might have left it in the bathroom too.
Maybe was a female officer? I didn’t see gender specified in the article.
true. does occc have restrooms designated for each gender in that area?
Reports said it was a “unisex” restroom.
This was definitely planned by the OCCC officer purposedly leaving his gun in the restroom pretending that it was an accident and then that “person of interest” coming in and taking it and disappearing with it. And you wonder how drugs etc.are found on inmates and in prison as this is because of the correctional officers who are bribed to do these underhanded things.
One news agency reports that the gun was recovered.
They should fire that correctional officer. Such carelessness is not to be tolerated. Someone could have been killed because of it.
Why wasn’t she arrest for theft? mmmmmmmm