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Man serving 20 year sentence for escape and assault of ANZ guard — escapes again

American Samoa High Court building
reporters@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A 29-year-old inmate who was accused of escaping from confinement last year while serving a 20-year sentence for escaping from the Territorial Correctional Facility (TCF) in January 2010 and assaulting an ANZ bank security guard has entered into a plea agreement with the government this week.

Vatoi Ching Sam Jr, a.k.a Pati Lepou appeared in High Court this week for a Change of Plea hearing. He was represented by Assistant Public Defender Rob McNeill while prosecuting the case was Assistant Attorney General Christy Dunn.

Lepou pled guilty to escape from confinement.

According to the government, in Mar. 22, 2018, Lepou escaped from the TCF. Two other inmates who saw Lepou jump the TCF fence notified prison guards who were on duty that evening.

A head count was conducted and it confirmed that Lepou was not inside the TCF compound. Later that same night, Lepou was captured and escorted back to custody.

The plea agreement was accepted by the court and sentencing is scheduled for Apr. 20 at 9 am.

In 2010, Lepou and three other inmates escaped from TCF and walked towards ANZ where Lepou struck the security guard and kicked him while demanding his car keys. Lepou told the other inmates to stab the guard with the butter knife he was holding.

Lepou and the crew continued to attack the security guard until they saw a truck approaching; that’s when they fled and returned to TCF.