'Master of disguises' from Hawaii convicted of escape and now charged with murder from California

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The Hawaiian man known as a “master of disguises” is convicted of running away from work leave.

Tyler Adams will serve five years for the escape charge, in addition to the years remaining on his theft convictions.

The attorney general’s office asked for consecutive sentences because of his history of fraud.

Adams claimed he escaped and left Laumaka Work Furlough in 2019 because he was attacked and extorted at the Halawa Correctional Facility.

His lawyer, Myles Breiner, told the court judge that he was afraid of the gangs in the prison.

“The gangs run the system. The guards let them roam free as long as they don’t cause any problems for the guards,” Breiner said.

Deputy Attorney General Adrian Dhakhwa said Adams deserves the consecutive time for not turning himself in; he was captured four years after he escaped.

“Not only has he left the jurisdiction, he has re-offended,” Dhakhwa said. “He had subsequent convictions in Texas and California.”

Breiner told the judge that his client will not get out of jail because he is wanted in the federal system for other crimes, including border violations and a murder case.

He is accused of killing his girlfriend, whose body was found in Tijuana, Mexico. No charges could be found in the federal court system, but Breiner said in court that he had been in contact with deputy U.S. attorneys from San Diego who told him his client was wanted in the murder case.

While Adams lived in Hawaii, he was also known as Kevin Kennedy, Lance Irwin, and Michael Whittman, believed to be names of students at the University of Hawaii Law School.

Adams, who is now 52, was taken into custody last year in Newport Beach, California was extradited to Hawaii.