Convict who lost
shorts recaptured

The escapee who left his pants and boxer shorts on a prison fence was arrested at his girlfriend's Kalihi apartment yesterday morning.

Acting on tips, police officers arrested Michael Ventura in the shower of the Pacheco Street apartment, not far from Oahu Community Correctional Facility, where he had escaped about 24 hours earlier.

Shortly after 8 a.m. Monday, the 25-year-old climbed a 10-foot chain-link fence at OCCC topped with razor wire, where his prison pants and boxer shorts got caught.

State Department of Public Safety officials said Ventura had been seen running from the prison with a bag on his head and cardboard wrapped around his waist.

He had served six days on his third-degree assault conviction and was due to get out Jan. 26. He now faces an escape charge punishable by five years in prison.

Ventura was hospitalized yesterday for wounds from the razor-wire fencing, and had not yet been interviewed about why he had fled prison, said Mike Gaede, Public Safety spokesman.

"One could speculate he needed to be with his girlfriend," Gaede said.

There had been no reports of problems with Ventura in the minimum-security quarters at OCCC.

Police also arrested his girlfriend, a 19-year-old woman, and a 38-year-old man for first-degree hindering prosecution.