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Halawa inmate allegedly
By Gregg K. Kakesako
stabs guard with pencil
Star-BulletinA 31-year-old Halawa Correctional Facility inmate, serving time for murder and attacking a prison guard on two earlier occasions, allegedly stabbed another guard with a pencil this morning.
Muao Maelega, who was sentenced to life for slaying his wife on Feb. 17, 1991, was being transferred from his cell in Halawa's special holding unit at 7:15 a.m. when he attacked the prison guard, Public Safety Director Ted Sakai said.
The guard, whose name was not released, was treated at the emergency room at Queen's Medical Center and was listed as being in "guarded condition."
Maelega was handcuffed when he attacked, Sakai said. He is classified as a dangerous inmate with a history of mental illness and was being taken out for recreational activities.
This is the third time Maelega has been accused of attacking a corrections officer.
In August 1997, he was charged with second degree assault for punching a prison guard because he thought the guard was making fun of him. He was sentenced to five years after pleading no contest.
The following year Maelega hit another guard at Halawa on Aug. 5, 1998, two days before he was sentenced to a mandatory life term with parole for the murder conviction.
Malenga was convicted of murdering his wife at the couple's Lanakila Avenue apartment six weeks after she had a baby because he believed she had sex with her stepfather.
Prosecutors said Maelega choked his wife, Eyvette, strangled her with an electric cord that was wrapped around her neck three times, slashed opened her throat and then stabbed her in the back and breasts.
Police said that today's incident probably will be turned over to the grand jury for action.
Assault on a corrections official carries a maximum prison term of 10 years.
