Aboriginal legal service officer Samantha Alampi arrested after allegedly caught in hotel bed with missing offender

Samantha Alampi – who manages the paroles of serious offenders for the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency – was allegedly found in an Alice Springs hotel room with her parolee Jefferson Woodie during a police raid.

Fugitive Jefferson Woodie and senior North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency official Samantha Alampi, seen on hotel CCTV footage at 10.50pm on Thursday, are facing serious charges. Picture: Charmayne Allison/ABC

A senior officer at the nation’s beleaguered Aboriginal legal service has been arrested after she was ­allegedly found in bed with one of her parole cases, who had recently been released from jail and gone missing.

Samantha Alampi – who manages the paroles of serious offenders for the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency – was allegedly found in an Alice Springs hotel room with manslaughter offender Jefferson Woodie early on Sunday morning during a police raid.

Police had been hunting Woodie, who is 20 years old and 16 years younger than Ms Alampi, after he had allegedly removed his electronic ankle bracelet and gone on the run, just months after getting out of jail.

20-year-old Jefferson Woodie. Picture: NTPFES

The Australian understands that it will be alleged the NAAJA officer laid a bizarre trail to the Mercure Resort in Alice Springs, as she tried to help the man escape a long second sentence for breaking his parole conditions.

Sources say the police had been warned about Woodie and Ms Alampi’s relationship and found the NAAJA employee picking up the convicted killer’s personal belongings from the Salvation Army Men’s Hostel where he had been residing while on parole on Friday.

She claimed she was taking them back to the legal service’s ­offices for safekeeping until he was found by authorities.

Police initially believed Woodie was attempting to travel to Darwin after his parole was revoked when he removed his ankle bracelet earlier in the week.

Multiple sources told The Australian that CCTV footage showed Ms Alampi checking into the Diplomat Hotel on Thursday night, before she moved to the Mercure on Saturday evening.

Just hours later, police barged in and allegedly found them together.

“The man’s parole was revoked … and police successfully located him at a commercial residence in Alice Springs this morning,” a police statement said on Sunday.

“Additionally, a 36-year-old woman has been arrested for her involvement in perverting the course of justice. Investigators allege she knowingly assisted the man, hindering police efforts to apprehend him.

“Both individuals are expected to face court at a later date on the relevant charges.”

Ms Alampi’s arrest is the latest scandal for NAAJA, which has been under pressure over claims of corruption, the hiring of a man arrested over domestic violence as its chairman, and a mass exodus of staff that resulted in vulnerable Aboriginal defendants being forced to represent themselves in court.

It was only a year ago that Woodie was preparing to get out of prison and promising to make something of his life.

Jefferson Woodie. Picture: NTPFES

He was part of a bucking bull rodeo program designed to reintegrate young offenders back into the community, and said he had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lead a normal life.

“I’m kind-hearted. I’m strong, I’m smart,” he told the ABC in 2023.

“I’m only young, (so) coming out of prison and (being) given the opportunity to do this; it’s a once in a lifetime.

“Everyone makes mistakes in life, you know. No one’s perfect … everyone’s done bad things, it’s just a part of life. But if you do ­believe in change this is the biggest change.”

Ms Alampi had risen to the role of “senior ThroughCare co-ordinator” in the “intensive case management section” at NAAJA and oversaw the cases of some of the NT’s most serious ­offenders on parole and bail.

She shared her experience supervising local youths on alternative detention orders in a government report in 2014, and said she worked with various parties including police, teachers and surveillance officers to reintegrate a troubled young offender into society.

According to NAAJA’s website, ThroughCare is “proudly funded” by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and the program mostly works with people with “high needs”, including those with substance abuse issues, problematic family relationships, people with a ­history of violence and the homeless.

When contacted by The Australian on Sunday afternoon about Ms Alampi’s arrest, her acting chief executive, Anthony Beven – NAAJA’s sixth boss in about 18 months – refused to ­provide a comment. 

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