Former Marquette men’s basketball and NBA forward Lazar Hayward Jr. was arrested Sept. 28 in Hawaii in conjunction with uploading falsified COVID-19 negative test documentation.
Hayward, 34, along with Raven Randle, 33, were traveling from Los Angeles International Airport to Lihue Airport in Kauai via American Airlines.
According to a news release from the Kauai Police Department, which was sent to the Marquette Wire from Hawaii News Now, the arrest came at noon last Tuesday for “uploading falsified documents into the Hawai’i Safe Travels portal in an attempt to avoid the state’s travel quarantine requirements.”
A Visitor Information representative from Lihue Airport told the Marquette Wire that unvaccinated travelers have to upload a negative COVID-19 test from a Trust Testing and Travel Partner 72 hours upon arrival or quarantine for 10 days.
Before arrival to Hawaii, those who chose to bypass the 10 day quarantine period with pre-travel test will receive a QR code to be scanned once at their destination.
Hayward and Randle’s documents were flagged before arrival by the system.
After Hayward and Randle’s documents were flagged by the system, the Attorney General’s Investigations Division conducted an investigation and collaborated with Kaua’i police who made the arrest for disobeying Hawaii’s falsified documentation policy.
“The Department of the Attorney General values its partnership with the Kauaʿi Police Department and the Kauaʿi Emergency Management Agency and appreciates their collaboration in enforcing COVID-19 rules and efforts to keep Kauaʿi communities safe,” special assistant to the Attorney General Gary Yamashiroya said in the release.
Following the booking for their charges, both were released pending an investigation and driven back to the airport where they took a direct flight back to Los Angeles.
“These arrests highlight the continuing efforts between the Attorney General’s investigators, other State officials and County law enforcement to keep Hawaiʿi safe,” Patrol Services Bureau Assistant Chief Mark Begley said in the release. “We also want to thank the vast majority of our visitors and residents who respect and follow the safety protocols that are in place during their travel to Hawaiʿi.”
According to KTLA 5, a CW-affiliated television station in Los Angeles, California, Hawaii authorities have been arresting people who violate travel rules, including a woman from Illinois investigators said uploaded a fake vaccination card that misspelled Moderna as “Maderna.”
Hayward has not respond to comment from the Marquette Wire.
Additionally at the time of this release, the Kaua’i Police Department’s Public Information Officer did not return a phone call to the Marquette Wire for further comment.
In four seasons at Marquette, Hayward averaged 13.5 points and 6.6 rebounds. The two-time All-BIG EAST Second Team honoree sits third in program history in scoring (1,859) and fifth in rebounds (910).
A court date has not been announced.
This story is developing
This article was written by John Leuzzi. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @JohnLeuzziMU.
