Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Associate Justice Fiti Sunia has taken under advisement a motion for a new trial from Thomas Siaumau, who was sentenced to 30 years last week, after being found guilty by a jury last month for shooting at a police vehicle with a police officer inside it, on the night of Dec. 14, 2017.

He appeared in court last Thursday morning to argue his motion. Prosecuting was Assistant Attorney General Laura Garvey and the defense’s attorney is Daniel Holladay of RDA Law Firm.

The defense called 3 witnesses, in an effort to establish evidence to support its motion for a new trial: Rosita Fepulea’i, mother of the government’s key eyewitness; DPS Officer Raymond Faiilagi; and Lapu Laufiti Savelio, a RDA Law Firm employee.

ROSITA FEPULEA’I

According to Fepulea’i, on Dec. 15 and 16, 2017 she and her husband went to the Tafuna Substation to speak to investigators regarding their son, Josaia Makulino’s statement about Siaumau.

She said they told a cop named Savelio that Josaiah was lying about where he was, on the night of the incident, and that Josaiah was at home the whole night of Dec.14, 2017, and they played bingo with him at their house.

Prosecutor Garvey asked Fepulea'i why she didn't testify for the defense during Siaumau’s trial, despite her name being on the defense’s witness list.

Fepulea'i said she was denied because she was present in court.

Sunia asked the witness how she knew Josaiah was lying to police about the incident. The witness explained she didn't know anything about her son being held in protective custody; but two women from the village told her that Josaiah was at the police station. And when she went to the Tafuna Substation to see her son, that's when Officer Savelio told her and her husband about Josaiah’s statement to police regarding the incident.

Fepulea’i said she spoke to one of the attorneys at RDA Law Firm regarding the issue, and she provided a signed statement last month and presented it to the RDA Law Firm about her son lying to police.

DPS OFFICER RAYMOND FAIILAGI

Officer Faiilagi testified that he recalled speaking with Mrs. Fepulea’i at the Tafuna Substation on Dec. 15, 2017 about Siaumau’s case.

During that conversation, Fepulea’i told him her son Josaiah had lied to police, and one police officer actually went inside the room where Josaiah was interviewed and asked him some questions. At some point, said Faiilagi, Josaiah changed his statement, regarding Siaumau’s case.

Faiilagi said he asked Josaiah why he changed his statement to police, and Siaumau just cried without saying a word.

Garvey asked Faiilagi why Josaiah changed the statement he first provided to police. According to Faiilagi, Josaiah told him he changed his statement after he spoke to his mother, and that he loved his mother so much.

Faiilagi told the court that he spoke to Fepulea'i about Josaiah and she told him she didn’t want her son to be involved in Siaumau’s case. According to Fepulea’i, she and her family reside at an apartment complex in Petesa, owned by Thomas Siaumau’s parents.

LAPU SAVELIO

In her statement to the court, Savelio said the only government witness she was unable to speak with was Josaiah. She said she tried her very best to locate him, but he was nowhere to be found.

She said RDA only received the copy of the government's witness list about a week and a half before the trial began.

MOTION

In arguing his motion, defense attorney Holladay said in order for a motion for a new trial to be granted by the court, the defense must provide new evidence to prove that there was a Brady Violation and also newly discovered evidence.

The ‘Brady Violation’ during the trial, according to Holladay, was that the government failed to disclose to the defense that Josaiah changed his statement to police. He said the defense only found out during trial.

He added that based on Josaiah’s mother's testimony, her son lied to police about Siaumau’s case and that particular testimony can help impeach Josaiah’s statement during trial.

Holladay said the government’s case against Siaumau solely relied on the testimony of one eyewitness: Josaiah. However, according to Josaiah’s mother, Josaiah lied to police regarding his whereabouts on the night of the incident.

The defense attorney said they never knew that Josaiah was under police protective custody until the day of trial, when he was brought to court under heavy police protection.

He then asked the court to grant their motion for a new trial.

Prosecutor Garvey strongly opposed. She argued that the evidence presented by the defense is not new.

On the issue of Josaiah’s whereabouts on the night of the incident, Garvey said this was the same issue the defense brought up during trial. One of the defense witnesses testified at trial that Josaiah was seen sleeping in front of a store between 8:30 pm and 10:30 pm.

Regarding Josaiah’s changing statement and the issue of protective custody, Garvey said these are issues the defense needs to investigate if they want to win a trial. She said the government couldn’t stop the defense from conducting its own investigation regarding a case.