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Court Report

Translated by Samoa News staff

MUSU FAILAUGA

A woman who pled guilty to possession of marijuana under a plea agreement with the government will be sentenced later this month in High Court.

The government’s case against Musu Failauga stems from an incident on Aug. 13 this year when the defendant went to the Tafuna police substation to discuss an issue with a police officer and she ended up getting into an argument with a police woman resulting in Failauga being arrested for public peace disturbance, according to court information, which didn’t specify details of the argument or why the defendant went to see a police officer.

And when police conducted a search, they found in the defendant’s bag a piece of paper wrapped around marijuana, as well as a pipe used for smoking meth. She was then arrested for illegal possession of marijuana.

In the bag, according to court information, police also found a checkbook in the name of A & E Corporation as well as proof that a $180 check from the checkbook had already been cashed by the defendant at a store in Nu’uuli on Aug. 3. Additionally, the defendant knew that there were no funds in the checking account.

Failauga appeared in High Court on Monday for her sentencing hearing where the plea agreement was read out publicly; in which the defendant admitted to what occurred at the Tafuna police substation and the marijuana found in her bag as well as the checkbook.

In exchange to pleading guilty to the marijuana possession charge, the government agreed not to file any charge against the defendant for signing the $180 check and cashing it at the Nu’uuli store. The government also agreed that it would argue for the defendant to repay the $180 to the store involved as part of any court sentence.

After the plea agreement was read, the court took a brief recess for the judges to consider merits of the case and a sentence. When the judges returned to the courtroom, attorneys on both sides were called to the bench for a brief discussion — but details of the discussion are unknown.

Thereafter, the court announced acceptance of the plea agreement, and that sentencing is continued to Nov. 23. Failauga remains in custody unable to post bail.

FEGAUA’I TOESE

The High Court has granted a request by assistant public defender Bob Pickett to set a trial date for his client Fegaua’i Toese, saying that both sides have been unable to reach a plea agreement.

The defendant, who remains jailed unable to post bail, is now scheduled to go on trial on Feb. 13, 2017 for a felony stealing charge, which is the same charge he faced in 2012, for which he was convicted and served time in jail followed by probation.

In the 2012 case, the defendant was accused of taking more than $1,000 from a local company, by forging the signature on a company check.

SAMUELU WRIGHT

A motion by defense attorney for Samuelu Wright to void the jury decision, which found him guilty, and to set a new trial, is now pending with the High Court following a hearing last week Friday.

Wright, one of the three defendants in the robbery at gunpoint of the Gold Conda store in Faga’alu in May 2014, was convicted by a jury and was sentenced in May this year to 35 years in jail.

Wright’s co-defendants Falefatu Asi and Alatuna Simi each received 15 years imprisonment. Asi passed away two months ago while serving his jail term. A jail inmate found Asi inside the Territorial Correctional Facility’s cafeteria.

Wright’s attorney Public Defender Douglas Fiaui filed more than a month ago the motion to void the jury trial and set a new trial date, arguing that the defense had just received new information that was not available at the first trial early this year.

During a hearing last Friday on the motion, Fiaui requested a continuance of the hearing. Chief Justice Michael Kruse asked why a continuance and Fiaui explained that he had just received the government’s response to his motion although the court had directed the government to file a response Oct. 15.

When questioned by the court, assistant attorney general Jerard Murphy apologized for the late response from the government.

Kruse informed the defense that the court would not rush a decision on the motion because the government had just filed its response. The court gave the defense five days to reply to the government’s response before another hearing is scheduled.

(Original Samoan stories published yesterday’s Lali section of Samoa News and weekend online.)