Captured escapee's friends defend his mental capacity
By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer
Friends of Leonard Moore yesterday called him "smart" and "not crazy," and said they refused to believe that a man they've known for years is a suspected auto thief.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
But police say Moore was pulled over in a stolen Toyota Corolla after he drove through a stop sign in Waikiki last October.
Leonard Moore, a State Hospital escapee recaptured this week, appeared in District Court yesterday. He is charged with second-degree escape and is being held at the OÎahu Community Correctional Center in lieu of $100,000 bail. Moore was ordered removed after disrupting a preliminary hearing yesterday.
He was arrested in Kahala on Wednesday morning following his second escape from the Hawai'i State Hospital in Kane'ohe, where he was committed May 20 for a determination on whether he is fit to stand trial on last year's auto-theft charge.
Yesterday, Moore, 35, had his initial court appearance on a second-degree escape charge for breaking out of the hospital. He was being held on $100,000 bail at the O'ahu Community Correctional Center, and his preliminary hearing was set for Tuesday.
Inside the courtroom, Moore disrupted the proceedings by speaking out of turn numerous times. District Judge Russell Blair eventually ordered Moore out of the courtroom.
Outside, Thurina Risner, Moore's girlfriend of four years, said Moore couldn't have been driving a stolen car on Oct. 18, 2000, because he's "not a stealer."
"I refuse to believe that he would steal a car like that," Risner said. "We had one car. There was no need to steal one.
"I'll stand behind my words 100 percent," Risner said. "He's a good friend of mine. When I was down, many times, he picked me up."
Jeanette Coyle, the mother of Moore's 14-year-old son, said she wanted to raise $10,000 for Moore's bail and hoped in the meantime that Moore wouldn't get hurt inside OCCC.
"He's not a one bit dangerous," said Coyle, who has known Moore for 15 years. "He's not crazy."
Added Risner: "He is 'all there.' He doesn't use drugs. He doesn't drink. He's the smartest man I've ever met."
Risner said Moore was in the Navy and traveled to Hawai'i more than 10 years ago from the Mainland. They met in 1997 and worked together selling self-help books. Moore also worked at an auto body shop, Risner said.
"I was homeless when we met," Risner said. "He took me out to dinner and a movie. He felt sorry for me. That's why I'm so appalled. How can something like this happen to a person like him?"
Risner said Moore escaped from the Hawai'i State Hospital because he was frustrated.
Moore has 18 convictions in Hawai'i dating back to 1988, all nonfelony offenses — court violations, trespassing and traffic-related violations such as driving without a license, driving without a seat belt and driving through a prohibited safety zone, according to the Hawai'i Criminal Justice Data Center.
