Samoan man charged in Alaska over robbery of Credit Union 1

On two occasions, a 20-year-old Samoan man living in Alaska faces federal charges for allegedly robbing the same credit union.

Court filings show that his family members turned him in to the police.

Etuale Ioane was arrested last week by agents of the U.S Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and is charged with robbery and stealing more than $3,400 from “Credit Union 1” on July 17 and August 28 of this year.

According to the Criminal Complaint, family members could identify Ioane as the person from the still photos and based on his clothing and shoes on the two days of the alleged robberies.

After obtaining an official State of Alaska search warrant, authorities executed the warrant on Etuale’s residence. Investigators located and seized clothing consistent with the suspect's worn in the July 17 robbery, including white Nike tennis shoes, a blue denim jacket with an attached gray hood, and dark denim jeans.

Investigators also located and seized clothing consistent with that worn by the suspect in the August 28 robbery.

Alaska police later worked with the FBI on this case. Ioane is charged with four counts of credit union robbery.

If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison, according to prosecutors’ statements, which noted that a federal judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.