Shooter on the loose; gang leader on multi-month violent crime spree wanted by police

[Credit to Shane Tenorio Healy of the Guam Daily Post for the recording of police chief Stephen Ignacio he provided to Kandit]

Mesemwan Repwak, also known as AJ Jain, 31, 5’8″ tall, weighing between 150 to 170 pounds, with a dark complexion and was last known to have blue hair, is a very dangerous man wanted by police for leading a violent crime spree since August, according to police chief Stephen Ignacio in a news conference today. He has multiple tattoos. If you see him or know where he is or may be, call 911 immediately.

Mr. Ignacio said that anyone found to continue assisting Mr. Repwak in any way will be arrested. He is known to drive a GMC Canyon (2016 to 2018 model) truck that at first was black, but police intelligence believes he spray paints to different colors and that he switches out the license plates often.

Mr. Repwak, the police chief said, is forming a street gang partial to the color green and whose violence is escalating. Police believe that Mr. Repwak is growing this violent gang while he is on the loose.

Police believe he is the man responsible for the shooting of a 14-year-old girl near Shop for Less in Maite on May 3, 2024, at 2:39 a.m. Her injuries were non-lethal, and she has been released from the hospital, he said. The shooting occurred while the girl was the passenger in a moving vehicle.

The crime is consistent with reports of criminal conspiracies involving the boxing in of victims traveling on the road in order to steal their cars. Mr. Ignacio confirmed those reports are linked to this case.

“To the community of Guam … Mesemwan Repwak, also known as AJ Jain … is wanted in connection with several offenses, some very dangerous offenses,” Mr. Ignacio said in a news conference. “We have been actively looking for him and we are now appealing to the community for your support and your assistance. To those who may know of his whereabouts and are in any way hindering or harboring his apprehension, be warned that if we establish that probable cause that you are harboring or hindering the apprehension of Mesemwan Repwak, you will held accountable.”

The GMC truck police believe Mr. Repwak is operating has been involved in several criminal investigations dating to August 2023, Mr. Ignacio said. Police are on a 24-hour search operation to find him due to the severity and increasing violence of his crimes, and the danger he poses to every Guamanian.

“Not only does he have an outstanding warrant of arrest, but he is wanted in several felony cases,” Mr. Ignacio said. Those cases, he said, involved victims who have been physically assaulted with machetes and guns. “He is known to frequently change his hair color,” Mr. Ignacio said, adding that the latest intelligence suggests his last hair color was blue.

“Repwak is suspected to be armed with a pistol and is considered dangerous,” he said. “He is wanted for questioning in several ongoing investigations.”

Mr. Repwak is known to frequent the Hana Market in Harmon, Robat Street and surrounding areas in Mongmong-Toto-Maite, Sinajana by Pabato Court, and West Buena Vista skate park “to name a few,” Mr. Ignacio said.

 

These are some of the crimes he is believed to have recently been involved in:

• On August 23, 2023, “Repwak and three other male individuals attacked a victim with a machete outside Hana Market in Harmon. This also involved a car jacking as well,” Mr. Ignacio said.
• April 14, 2024, “Repwak was identified as one of the individuals involved in the theft of vehicle on Robat Street in Maite. This again was another car jacking incident,” Mr. Ignacio said.
• On April 16, 2024, “Repwak brandished a pistol during an altercation in Barrigada resulting in injuries to a mother. This was at a residence, or apartment complex located on San Roque street, right down the street from the mayor’s office, the park, and the church,” Mr. Ignacio said.
• On April 24, 2024, “Repwak fled the scene after being pursued by officers, leaving behind a vehicle containing a rifle and suspected methamphetamine,” Mr. Ignacio said.
• May 3, 2024, “Repwak was observed attempting to steal vehicles using stolen keys from Nissan in Upper Tumon,” Mr. Ignacio said.
• May 3, 2024, “A 14-year-old female … was shot while traveling in a vehicle pursued by Repwak,” Mr. Ignacio said.
• May 5, 2024, “Stolen items linked to Repwak were discovered during a search of a residence he had been hiding in,” Mr. Ignacio said.
• May 7, 2024, “Repwak and accomplices engaged in a high-speed chase and altercation with a victim in Maite,” Mr. Ignacio said.

 

Mr. Repwak would not have been able to commit all but one of these crimes had Judge Jonathan Quan not released him from jail on January 3 this year.

The suspect was arrested in late December and was separately charged in two felony cases stemming from an April 11, 2023 aggravated assault of his then-girlfriend, and a July 7, car theft at Hana Market in Harmon.

According to the magistrates complaint in the April aggravated assault case, Mr. Repwak severely beat his girlfriend at the time with his hands and a stick, and also assaulted a minor in her household during the alleged attack.

Police were able to catch Mr. Repwak because he swerved into a late night sobriety checkpoint on December 28, 2023. According to the magistrates complaint in that case, “As Defendant exited the vehicle, officers observed him attempting to conceal an object in his right hand and throw a black handgun into the passenger side of the vehicle. Offices instructed
Defendant and the two passengers to lay on the ground, however, they refused to comply. Officers then called for backup. The officer then drew his weapon and instructed the three to lay on the ground, again. They refused to comply. Another officer arrived at the scene to assist and was informed that there were firearms within the vehicle. At that point, officers discovered the license plate AH6431 inside the vehicle and verified the VlN affixed to the vehicle, which reviewed to be stolen.”

Attorney General Douglas Moylan, in his February edition of his monthly report on the criminal justice system’s so-called “catch, release, and reoffend” problem, named Mr. Repwak’s release by Judge Quan as part of the ongoing rise in crime. “The numbers are increasing resulting in more crime in our villages,” Mr. Moylan wrote at the time. “Senators must act by changing the release conditions by statute. The senators need to change Guam law to protect our client – the people of Guam – from continuing to become crime victims.  The stats do not lie, and are worsening. Career criminals and meth addicts must be locked up to protect us.”

 

An undated crime report from police case 2024-10484 that was leaked to Kandit describes a shooting incident that occurred along Maimai Road in Ordot that nearly matches the modus operandi Mr. Ignacio confirmed is associated with Mr. Repwak and his forming street gang.

A man who was driving with his wife in the passenger seat, according to the crime report, said they “were traveling east on Maimai Rd., Chalan Pago, passing Apusento Gardens, when a black pick up truck, who behind them, overtook on the oncoming lane. He looked at his side view mirror and saw a green cafe bike approach him from behind in a high rate of speed.”

The victim slowed his vehicle in order to slow the cafe bike, according to the report. “As he slowed down,” the report states, “he looked at his side view mirror and noticed the motorcycle stopped in an angle. He then observed the operator of the motorcycle pull out a black pistol from the front of his waist area. The operator then pointed the pistol towards his vehicle at which time he heard a gun shot.”

The report does not indicate whether either of the victims were shot, though it does describe them chasing the cafe bike while the woman was on the phone with a 911 dispatcher to report the crime and their whereabouts.

 

The police chief urges the public “to remain vigilant,” repeating several times that Mr. Repwak is a dangerous man. “Your assistance is crucial in maintaining the safety of our community,” he appealed to Guamanians.

Police have no active leads on Mr. Repwak. He is known to move around frequently, Mr. Ignacio said. “He’s very transient and he’s very mobile, and that’s why we’re looking for his truck and him. He’s very dangerous,” he said.

“Repwak is trying to establish a street gang,” Mr. Ignacio said. “And we need to shut that gang down.” The police chief said the suspect is known to “roll around” with three or four others close to him. “This is probably the early formation of a street gang led by a very dangerous individual, and we will bring him in,” he said. Police do not yet know the name of the gang.

Mr. Ignacio confirmed reports brought to his attention by the Guam Daily Post’s Shane Tenorio Healy of a recent criminal conspiracy involving cars boxing in victims traveling on the road and shooting at them in attempts to steal the cars. The chief confirmed those reports are tied to Mr. Repwak. “That seems to be his method of operation,” Mr. Ignacio said. “He operates with other people, sometimes with one car, sometimes with multiple cars, and that’s how they execute car jackings.”

“It seems the frequency of the incidents is increasing, and the seriousness of the harm that they’re willing to cause to other people is increasing as well,” Mr. Ignacio said. “He’s a danger to our community. We’ve been on this 24-hour operation for several days now.”