Police last night arrested an escapee from the state mental hospital who has an extensive criminal record, including sexual assault, kidnapping and robbery.

Alexander Aehegma, 28, slipped out of custody Sunday night when he was attending a group meeting in Kāne'ohe and was allowed to go to the bathroom about 8:20 p.m., Crime-Stoppers said yesterday.

Aehegma did not return to the meeting, the Crime-Stoppers news release said.

Police arrested him about 6:30 p.m. yesterday in Kahuku, after Aehegma called 911 to turn himself in, police said.

Earlier yesterday, police on O'ahu and the Big Island alerted the public to be aware of the escapee, who is a former resident of Keauhou. Honolulu police believed Aehegma might have tried to return to the Big Island, Hawai'i County police said.

He was committed to the Hawai'i State Hospital in Kāne'ohe after being acquitted by reason of insanity of five criminal offenses on Aug. 15, 2007, according to his file with the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center.

The five charges Aehegma was acquitted of were third-degree sexual assault, kidnapping, first-degree terroristic threatening, felony abuse of a family member and misdemeanor abuse of a family member.

Before that, Aehegma had been found guilty of disorderly conduct in January 2007 and shoplifting and criminal contempt of court in July 2005. All three are misdemeanor or petty misdemeanors.

In his latest incident, he was charged on Oct. 22, 2009 with first-degree robbery.

Another State Hospital patient with a similar criminal record remains at large. David True Seal climbed over a 15-foot-high chain-link fence at the hospital on Dec. 3, 2009, and hasn't been seen since.

In 2002, Seal was acquitted by reason of insanity of two counts of first-degree sexual assault and kidnapping on Maui.