Maui bail jumper caught
after 18 years on the lam
A man who jumped bail on Maui 18 years ago has been arrested in Tonga and returned to Hawaii, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
Mafi Kalisitiane, a Tongan national, was arrested Oct. 17 and arrived in Honolulu on Wednesday, according to Deputy U.S. Marshal Michael Ferstl.
Fingerprints taken at the time of his arrest in Tonga matched those taken when he was arrested in 1987 on Maui, Ferstl said.
Kalisitiane, now in his mid-30s, is in police custody in Honolulu and is expected to be returned soon to Maui, where he will be prosecuted on an indictment charging him with burglary and attempted sexual assault, according to the Maui prosecutor's office.
Kalisitiane originally was scheduled to be flown to New Zealand for a flight to Honolulu, but that was changed because New Zealand authorities denied him entry, Ferstl said.
Kalisitiane lived in New Zealand for 15 years and has family there, and authorities were concerned he might seek political asylum, Ferstl said.
The fugitive then was flown to Honolulu via American Samoa.