STAR-BULLETIN / 2001
Honolulu police scoured the Kahala area looking for Leonard Moore after he escaped from the State Hospital in 2001.
Mental patient gets
limited releaseDoctors contend that
the ex-fugitive is not dangerous
so long as he takes his medicine
A state judge has granted temporary conditional release to a two-time Hawaii State Hospital escapee who was captured in May 2001 after an intense door-to-door search in Kahala.
Circuit Judge Marcia Waldorf accepted a plan presented yesterday by Leonard Moore's defense that allows him to reside at a secured care cottage on the grounds of the State Hospital in Kaneohe. He will be under 24-hour supervision.
Leonard Moore: He escaped from the mental hospital twice within two weeks
Moore, 36, was acquitted by reason of insanity earlier this month for a car theft in 2000 and two escapes after a judge found him fit to go to trial.
Moore must appear before the court in a month to see whether he can be placed at the care cottage permanently. The plan still needs to be approved by Adult Client Services, formerly Adult Probation Services, which supervises defendants on conditional release.
State Hospital doctors recommended conditional release because Moore had received all needed services and treatment and now needs the next level of care, said defense attorney Keith Shigetomi. Moore has been diagnosed as a schizophrenic.
The State Hospital also reported that as long as Moore takes his medication and continues treatment, he is not dangerous, Shigetomi said.
Besides granting conditional release, Waldorf could have discharged Moore outright or committed him to the hospital.
"The court is satisfied Mr. Moore has realized the maximum benefits at the State Hospital, and commitment at this juncture would not be appropriate," Waldorf said.
She is also satisfied, based on doctors' reports, that Moore is stable when he is taking his medication and does not pose a risk to the community.
City prosecutors opposed Moore's release from the State Hospital, citing public safety.
Moore's two escapes from the hospital occurred within a two-week period in 2001.
He was originally ordered to the hospital to undergo evaluation for fitness to stand trial for stealing a car.
He escaped from the hospital on March 28, 2001, by throwing a table through a window. On April 7, 2001, he threw a television set through a window.
Moore was captured May 16, a day after police sent a SWAT team into a Kahala neighborhood and blocked off several streets searching for him.
