Lorenzo Vaimagalo who’s serving a 12-year sentence for two previous cases for which he was convicted, has been charged with escape from confinement. The inmate will make his initial appearance in the District Court today.

The escape from confinement is a class D felony punishable by up to five years in jail, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.

According to the government’s case, on July 26, 2010 then Warden Moliga reported to the west substation that inmate Vaimagalo has escaped from the Tafuna Correctional Facility.

Former inmate Romeo Peretania told police that on the day in question he received a call from Vaimagalo asking him for money and said he was on his way to Peretania’s work place.

It’s alleged after the phone call, Peretania then contacted the TCF informing the correction officers that Vaimagalo has escaped from jail.

A witness told police he and other family members were having a BBQ when they saw the defendant behind their house. The witness approached the defendant and asked him what he was doing outside of jail. The government claims, the defendant told the witness that he escaped from the TCF to kill Chief Justice Michael Kruse for always adding years to his sentence.

Court filings state that Vaimagalo said he was going to get a gun from a friend in Faleniu. The witness informed the defendant that they will contact the police because they might get into trouble and Vaimagalo left.

It's alleged one witness contacted correction officers about Vaimagalo, as the witness  was picking up Vaimagalo to take to a store in Ili’ili. The witness told the officers the type of vehicle he was driving and told them to wait near the bushes. The witness went into the store and the correction officers apprehended the defendant who was sitting in the vehicle and took him back to jail.

Vaimagalo told police that former inmate Peretania set him up, by calling him to come over to his workplace to get his money and that’s why he went to Peretania.