Fugitive held in Guam faces additional time in prison for fleeing

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

An 'Ewa man who was captured on Guam a day after he was to be sentenced on sexual assault charges faces an additional five years in prison and possible federal charges for allegedly fleeing the state.

Jovie Adora

He is being held in a Guam detention center and faces extradition proceedings to Hawai'i. Honolulu Prosecutor Peter Carlisle said he hopes to know by Monday when Adora's extradition hearing will be.

If Adora waives extradition, he could be back in Hawai'i soon. But Carlisle said he did not know how long it would take if Adora decides to fight extradition.

If and when he does return, Adora faces a maximum 20 years in prison under a plea agreement with prosecutors. He pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual assault and one count of kidnapping. The offenses involved four teenage girls, Carlisle said.

Carlisle said yesterday that Adora could face an additional charge of bail jumping, a felony that carries a five-year term. Adora had been free on $310,000 bail. Carlisle said there was no reason to believe that Adora was a flight risk until Wednesday.

"When we go in after somebody has pled guilty to an offense and they're showing up in the courthouse, it's a tough argument to make that now the circumstances have changed so much that he will not show up in the courtroom because he's there, he's pleading guilty, and if it's to a class A felony, he knows that it's a 20-year sentence," he said.

Carlisle said he also will meet with U.S. Attorney Ed Kuboto see what federal charges could be brought against Adora.

"If it turns out that the feds have a consecutive sentence that's automatic, and they're willing to take it, then I would be more than happy to suggest to them that if they want it, then I'll give it to them," Carlisle said.

Kubo said Adora could face a charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, which carries a five-year term in federal prison. But he said federal prosecution in these cases is rare and his office has handled only one such case.

"We normally leave the sanctioning of flight to the state courts themselves," Kubo said.

Adora was to have been sentenced Wednesday by Circuit Court Fa'auuga To'oto'o. But Adora fled during a break and told his attorney, Keith Shigetomi, that he was having chest pains and needed to see a doctor.

Shigetomi said yesterday that his client did see a doctor and received a prescription. But Shigetomi said he has not spoken with Adora since Wednesday and did not know why he fled or whether Adora will fight extradition.

Adora will be represented at extradition hearings by a Guam attorney, Shigetomi said.

On Thursday, Adora purchased a one-way ticket to Guam and paid $800 in cash, said Public Safety Interim Director James Propotnick. Adora had used the name "J. Mark Adora" and said he was heading to the Philippines because of a death in the family, Propotnick said.

He said authorities checked "every airline boarding list" to determine which flight Adora had taken. Guam law enforcement agencies were notified and were waiting for Adora, Propotnick said.

"He was shocked. He had no idea," Propotnick said.

"He thought he'd made the clean getaway. "

Propotnick said Adora was taken to the airport in Honolulu by an 18-year-old female friend. The woman has not yet been arrested, he said.

Advertiser staff writer Lynda Arakawa contributed to this report.