Posted at 2:05 p.m., Friday, April 06, 2001

Man with violent history escapes state hospital

Police today were searching for a 38-year-old man with a history of violent offenses who escaped from the Hawaii State Hospital this morning.

Police said James Morgan Huffman was on a supervised walk around the Kaneohe hospital grounds when he ran away through the bushes at around 7:30 a.m. this morning.

Huffman was in an agitated state and been convicted of violent offenses on the Mainland in several states in the past, police said.

Huffman was found unfit to proceed and ordered committed to the custody of the Department of Health on December 18, 2000, by Judge Victoria Marks regarding a pending trial for second-degree robbery for an incident that occurred on January 26, 2000 in the downtown area.

Police described Huffman, also known as James Michael Allen, as 5-feet, 7-inches tall, 140 pounds, with short grey hair, brown eyes, a fair complexion and a unshaven appearance.

He wore a grey sweatshirt, white t-shirt and blue jeans. Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300.