Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The Trial Division of the High Court has taken under advisement a motion to suppress evidence by the owner of Le Aute Sports & Bar, Tumuatasi Lefatia, a.k.a MAMA, filed by her defense attorney, Marcellus Talaimalo Uiagalelei.

Assistant Attorney General, Christy Dunn is prosecuting for the government.

During an evidentiary hearing this week, the government called one witness to the stand: lead investigator Det. Justin Thomsen.

The defense also called one witness to testify: Fa’afetai Lefatia, Mama’s husband.

Uiagalelei is requesting the court to exclude certain evidence from the government’s case against his client, before trial.

However, prosecutor Dunn said all the evidence collected by police during the search was from areas that were listed in the search warrant.

When the case was called, the government witness tried to establish the reason why police searched Lefatia’s residence on the early morning of Sept. 12, 2018; and the areas identified in the search warrant as part of the residence.

According to Thomsen, he was involved in the investigation of an attempted murder that involved an inmate by the name of Manu Lefatia who, to his knowledge, is Mama's son.

Based on information that detectives of the DPS Vice & Narcotics received from several informants regarding the attempted murder case, Thomsen said he requested a search warrant, to look for the weapon that was involved in the attempted murder case.

Thomsen was one of the armed detectives who, along with several other officers, executed the search warrant at Le Aute.

The locations listed in the search warrant included the three structures of the Lefatia compound, a silver colored truck that was allegedly used to transport Manu back to the Territorial Correctional Facility (TCF) after the alleged shooting on the night of Aug. 12, 2018; and the portion of Lefatia’s residence identified as the “Pool Hall”.

Thomsen said they were looking for firearms, ammunition, firearms parts, and any other evidence linked to the alleged shooting of a man in Leone.

According to Thomsen, prior to his request for a search warrant for Lefatia's home, he, along with other detectives, searched the cell where Manu was detained, looking for firearms. That search came up empty, and that’s why he requested a search warrant for Lefatia’s home.

He said they also gathered information from more than 20 witnesses and informants, telling police that Manu used to live in one of the three structures listed in the search warrant, and he was the manager of the Pool Hall before he was incarcerated in the beginning of 2017.

Thomsen said several officers entered the first room of the building and observed an adult female — later identified as Tumuatasi Lefatia — sitting up from the bed at the far right side of the room. Also present inside the room was another female and an infant.

Lefatia immediately stood up and began to get dressed in front of a nightstand that was approximately 6 inches from the bed.

Officers escorted Lefatia and the female and infant outside of the room.

Thomsen said that's when he informed Lefatia about what was happening and produced a copy of the search warrant for her to inspect. Lefatia acknowledged that she understood the situation and officers immediately began the search.

On the nightstand that was within arm’s length of Lefatia while she was on the bed, police allegedly found a small black pouch that, according to police, contained two types of drugs — that were later tested and turned up positive for marijuana and methamphetamine (‘ice’) — and $70 in various bills. (See story for details Oct. 10, 2018 Samoa News)

Before the search of Lefatia’s residence, Thomsen said they didn’t know who actually lived there, but when they searched the place, they discovered that it was Tumuatasi who resided at the home.

Thomsen testified that the information they received from several witnesses and informants is that Manu holds the authority for the entire structure.

For the vehicle that was involved in the alleged shooting, Thomsen said that it was registered to Manu’s sister, Elsarina Lefatia.

Under cross-examination, Uiagalelei asked why it took so long for police to search the Lefatia residence, instead of searching it immediately after the alleged Leone shooting.

Thomsen said they first searched the crime scene for evidence, and interviewed several witnesses. They also searched the cell where Manu was held.

Uiagalelei asked Thomsen to explain why they believed the weapon that was involved in the alleged shooting was at the Lefatia residence.

Thomsen said it was based on information they gathered from several witnesses, and the silver colored truck belonging to one of Manu’s relatives, was observed at the crime scene after the shooting.

Based on his training, Thomsen said he believed the vehicle was used to transport Manu back to the TCF, and also to transport the weapon back to Manu’s residence.

When he was called to the stand, Mr. Lefatia testified that the room where his wife Tumuatasi was in on the morning police executed the search warrant is not part of the “Pool Hall”.

A diagram of the Lefatia residence was presented to the court by Mr. Lefatia, which showed the locations of each of the three structures police searched when they executed the search warrant.

Despite the fact that all three structures, including the one used as the Pool Hall, are all under one roof, Mr. Lefatia said the room they call their residence is not part of the Pool Hall.

For that reason, he believes their room should not have been searched, as it was not included in the search warrant. He also stated that his son, Manu, lived upstairs in the two-story building with his wife and children before he was incarcerated.

Lefatia, who has been in custody since her arrest last September, unable to post a $100,000 cash bond, is charged with 4 felonies that have to do with the drugs police allegedly found in the black pouch on the nightstand.