Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Mayne Siaumau appeared in High Court yesterday morning for an Order to Show Cause (OSC) hearing that was set by the court on Nov. 27th. He was also there for a disposition hearing from a previous OSC.

When asked by Acting Associate Justice Elvis Patea, Siaumau admitted in court yesterday that he violated the condition of his probation that requires him to be law abiding.

While on probation, Siaumau was arrested and charged with second degree property damage, public peace disturbance, and third degree assault. That case is currently pending in the District Court.

Patea has ordered the Probation Office to submit a pre-disposition report and both dispositions are set to be heard January 31, 2019.

For now, Siaumau is remanded to custody.

Siaumau was serving a 5-year probation sentence for assault convictions (High Court), and 3 years for public peace disturbance (District Court).

MATTHEW TAFUA

Acting Associate Justice Elvis Patea has issued a bench warrant for Matthew Tafua — who is out on a $5,000 bond — for failure to appear in High Court yesterday morning for his pretrial conference.

Tafua — a former employee of the Office of Motor Vehicles (OMV) — is facing felony charges including forgery and acceding to corruption, for his role in an alleged scam involving the issuance of permits for commercial drivers.

According to the criminal complaint, Tafua allegedly admitted to police that he issued two commercial driver's permits in exchange for $50 total.

When his case was called yesterday, Tafua was not present in court. When Patea asked Tafua's attorney, Assistant Public Defender Rob McNeill where his client was, the defense counsel replied, "I have not heard from him."

According to McNeill, he has received all the discovery and even an offer from the government, represented by Assistant Attorney General Laura Garvey.

Patea moved to forfeit Tafua's $5,000 bond and ordered the issuance of a bench warrant. He also doubled the bond amount to $10,000