Saito escape accomplice still not identified

It has been six months since acquitted killer Randall Saito escaped from the state psychiatric hospital in Kaneohe and there is still no word on who helped him orchestrate an intricate plan that included thousands of dollars in cash and multiple fake IDs.

State officials say six Hawaii State Hospital workers are still on “off-duty status” since the state Attorney General’s Office started an administrative investigation in November. The employees were on unpaid leave for the first 30 days, but have since been paid as required under their union contract. A seventh person who worked under a separate state contract is no longer at the hospital. The Health Department, which oversees the hospital, said it could not immediately disclose the salaries for those positions.

James Walther, special assistant to Attorney General Russell Suzuki, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that there are no updates on who helped Saito both inside and outside the facility. He also did not provide a time frame for the release of the investigative report.

“It just seemed so surreal how he was able to escape the way he did. I realize there is an internal investigation and a certain amount of secrecy and confidentiality, however, it is imperative that they complete this investigation and share what they have with the public as soon as possible,” said Sen. Will Espero, (D, Ewa Beach).

Hawaii residents need to know “that steps are being taken to make sure this situation never happens again, that individuals who are allegedly involved have been identified and possibly reassigned, and if there (are) any criminal charges that are going to be placed against any other employees. That’s information the public needs to know. Six months should be enough time.”

Saito was able to flee hospital grounds on the morning of Nov. 12 after being supplied with more than $6,000 in cash, as well as two bogus driver’s licenses and two cellphones, court documents show. That’s after changing his clothes and opening a four-digit combination lock on a gate leading to the Windward Community College campus, calling a taxicab, obtaining a backpack and arranging a charter flight to Maui and commercial flight to San Jose, Calif.

A judge ordered that he go before a panel of examiners to determine whether he can be held criminally responsible for the escape.

“The guy had the run of the place for years. Most of it he did on his own,” said Saito’s attorney Michael Green. “He used his own ingenuity to get his identification done. They have no clue who helped him.”

Saito was acquitted in 1981 of murder by reason of insanity in the slaying of Sandra Yamashiro. In July 1979, Saito fatally shot and stabbed Yamashiro, 29, in the parking lot at Ala Moana Center. He was diagnosed with sexual sadism and necrophilia and committed to the State Hospital.

After a multi-state manhunt, Saito was captured in Stockton, Calif., three days after walking out of Hawaii State Hospital. Saito plotted his escape with a contraband cellphone, prosecutors have said in court documents.

“We need to know that (the hospital) is safer and more secure than it was back then. The sooner we resolve this and bring it to court the better,” Espero said. “(So) the public can start having faith again in government and in the Health Department that everything is being run properly and the chances of an escape of this nature again are zero to nil.”

The Department of Health said the hospital is sufficiently staffed with more than 600 employees and contractors. The state is scheduled to break ground this summer on a more secure facility, according to the DOH, which completed an interior fencing project last month.

“We’ve made a lot of improvements … worked with the staff, conducted retraining to ensure that proper protocols are being followed,” said DOH spokeswoman Janice Okubo. “A number of security measures are still in place: restrictions on leaving the campus, restrictions on privileges and increased unannounced unit searches.”

An Oahu grand jury on Thursday returned a new indictment against Saito, charging him with four counts of identity theft and one of escape.

The Attorney General’s Office said Saito used the personal information of Alvin Clayton Pimento to flee the facility and fly to California in November. Each identity theft charge is a Class A felony punishable by a mandatory 20-year prison term. The escape charge is a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Meanwhile, the administrative investigation continues and the six hospital employees remain off duty with pay.

“I am a little perplexed. It does seem it has taken a significant amount of time — an unreasonably long time (to complete an investigation),” said Rep. John Mizuno, (D, Kalihi Valley), chairman of the House Health and Human Services Committee. “This one to me is kind of black-and-white. The guy walked out. How did he get cellphones? How did he get the money? Who were his connections? It’s the people’s right to know. Justice delayed is not justice.”