Guilty plea entered in Provo robbery

PROVO — A man who attacked a clerk at a cash-lending business in Orem pleaded guilty to charges filed against him in the Jan. 7 incident.

Junior Pale Fe'a, 28, pleaded guilty Wednesday afternoon in 4th District Court to aggravated robbery, attempted aggravated burglary and kidnapping.

His family accompanied him to the court on Wednesday and said the attack was completely out of character for Fe'a.

Police say Fe'a entered a Cash Valley loan store at 600 N. State in Orem, jumped over the counter and tackled the female clerk.

He demanded money at gunpoint, then attempted to tie up the woman, said Orem prosecutor Mike Barker, who is handling the case for the Utah County Attorney's Office.

After struggling with the clerk, Fe'a gave up, took the money and left the store.

Fe'a's family said they were shocked when police started showing up that morning, asking his whereabouts. "He has two children at home," said his wife, Laiza Fe'a. "He's a good husband, good with his kids. I'm upset with my husband, don't get me wrong, but it's my kids I worry about."

"He's such a good guy," said friend Bobby Lawrence. "If a judge could have mercy. He was a father who did a stupid thing."

However, the incident left the clerk emotionally scarred. She and her husband attended the hearing but left quickly afterward — but not before exchanging some angry, tearful words with Fe'a's family.

The woman has since quit her job at Cash Valley. She has declined requests for comment by The Deseret Morning News.

During the robbery, as Fe'a was trying to tie the woman up, the phone began ringing.

Fe'a knocked the phone off the desk in an attempt to silence it and the woman's husband, who was calling, heard the attack going on.

He then called police on another line.

The attack was also captured on security cameras and, also using information the clerk provided, arresting officers were able to find Fe'a at his home.

"It's got to be an incredibly traumatic, scary, frightening occasion for the victim," 4th District Judge Lynn Davis said Wednesday.

The plea deal reached Wednesday reduces the charges. Fe'a was initially charged with three first-degree felony charges of aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary and aggravated kidnapping.

The deal also included the stipulation that Fe'a serve time in jail for the two second-degree felony charges concurrently with the first-degree felony charge. Fe'a will be sentenced May 23 at 3 p.m.

A first-degree felony charge carries a potential sentence of five years to life in prison.

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E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com