Cops detail
rapist’s captureJovie Adora thought he had
made a clean getaway until
he was arrested on Guam
Jovie Adora walked off a Continental Airlines flight on Guam, unaware that Hawaii officials had tracked him.
When the plane landed Friday (Thursday, Hawaii time), Guam police were waiting for him.
"He was shocked. He had no idea. He thought he made a clean getaway," said James Propotnick, state Department of Public Safety interim director.
Adora, convicted of sexually assaulting four teenage girls and described as a serial rapist, was wanted on a $1 million arrest warrant for skipping out on his sentencing hearing Wednesday.
The flight had stopped on Guam for about a 1 1/2-hour layover before it continued on to the Philippines.
Adora, 26, had a ticket to return to his country of birth but remains on Guam pending extradition to Hawaii.
Propotnick said investigators determined Adora paid for his one-way ticket to the Philippines after emptying his bank account.
"He claimed that there was a death in the Philippines, to explain his payment of cash for a one-way ticket -- which should have raised somebody's alarm, but it didn't," he said.
However, the money from his account was not enough for the fare. Investigators are trying to figure out where the rest of the cash came from.
Adora had arranged with his attorney to turn himself in at 2:30 p.m. Thursday.
When he did not show up to turn himself in, family members expressed concern for his safety, fearing the worst because Adora had said goodbye to some nieces and nephews.
When he is returned to Hawaii, Adora faces a maximum 20-year prison term for the sexual assaults, according to the terms of his plea agreement. He faces an additional five years in prison should the city charge him with jumping bail.
Adora had been free on $310,000 bail pending his sentencing for four counts of sexual assault and kidnapping.
City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle said he is conferring with U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo to determine whether federal authorities have jurisdiction over this case, whether federal charges such as international flight to avoid prosecution would be more appropriate and which office could most likely obtain a longer sentence for Adora.
Kubo could not be reached for comment.
Carlisle said he hopes a hearing could be set as early as Monday on Guam to determine whether Adora will waive extradition to Hawaii.
If Adora fights extradition, prosecutors will prepare a governor's warrant ordering that he be returned here to face sentencing for his sexual assault convictions and any other charges.