Hawaiʻi Police Department
Criminal Investigations Section, Area I
Lieutenant Gregory Esteban
Phone: 961-2252
Report No. C12032443
Jarvis Higa
Ryan Jeffries-Hamar
Tyler Tzovarras
Media Release (update No. 3)
Police have charged the second suspect with several offenses stemming from his escape from Hawaiʻi Community Correctional Center in Hilo.
After conferring with prosecutors, detectives charged 31-year-old Ryan James Jeffries-Hamar with first-degree escape, second-degree assault, second-degree robbery, kidnapping, second-degree unlawful imprisonment, unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle, and third-degree criminal property damage. He is being held without bail at the Hilo police cellblock pending his initial appearance Monday afternoon.
Jeffries-Hamar is the second and last suspect charged after he and 35-year-old Jarvis Naoki Higa escaped from the Hilo jail on December 5. Higa was captured two days later and is being held at Halawa Correctional Facility on Oahu.
Thirty- year-old Tyler John Tzovarras, also known as Tyler O’Neil, of Pāhoa was charged with first-degree hindering prosecution for his role in allegedly harboring and assisting Jeffries-Hamar while he was on the lam. He was also charged with contempt of court in connection with an outstanding warrant. His bail was set at $10,800.
Detectives are considering additional charges against other individuals who assisted both Higa and Jeffries-Hamar.
