Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A 26-year-old man from Fagaalu accused of assisting his best friend, Faiaoga “Fred” Satele (co-defendant) in burglarizing a Pago Pago home 3 months ago is now in custody, after his arrest this week pursuant to a warrant from the court.

Anderson Ta’ala Jr, (a.k.a. A.J. or Andy) made his initial appearance yesterday morning. Bail is set at $20,000 and a preliminary hearing is set for Oct. 29th

If released on bail, Ta’ala Jr is to remain law abiding, not leave or attempt to leave the territory without the court’s permission, and not make any direct or indirect contact with the government’s witnesses, the victim, and especially co-defendant Satele.

THE ALLEGATION

The government claims that Ta’ala Jr is connected to a pending case against Satele, who is facing one count of second degree burglary and two counts of stealing, both felonies.

The evidence suggests that Ta’ala Jr participated in or aided Satele in the burglary, and received stolen property as a result.

The case surfaced after police received a complaint from a Pago Pago family regarding their home being burglarized while they were in Apia in July. The family returned Aug. 18th to find their front door broken, and several personal items missing: 3 laptops; electric tools; tablet; jewelry; sewing machine; shoes; 22-caliber rifle; vacuums; two fine mats; weed whacker; and a samurai sword.

It was a male - also from Pago Pago - who gave investigators the break they needed. According to the witness, he was at a laundromat in Pago when Satele approached him and asked if he wanted to buy a laptop for $40; and 3 more laptops for $100 each. The witness said he declined all the offers.

A week after the report was filed, the victim told police that another male was involved -  selling the stolen items on “American Samoa Dealz and Stealz”, an online marketplace. Police were given screenshots of “for sale” posts of items believed to have been stolen during the burglary, including a Facebook image of Satele holding a 22. caliber rifle.

During questioning, Satele provided the names of people allegedly involved, and one of them was Ta’ala Jr whom he said participated in the Pago burglary. Satele said he gave some items to his acquaintances, and others were given to Ta’ala Jr to sell online. In his statement to police, Ta’ala Jr, said that in August, Satele gave him some items to sell online, and he didn’t know the items were stolen.

He said Satele needed his help, because he didn’t have a Facebook account, and after he sold the items, he and Satele split the money 50-50. Regarding the rifle, Ta’ala Jr said the picture of Satele holding the gun was taken on Aug. 6th in Satele’s room at his parent’s house.

He told police that one night in August, Satele called him and said he had some stuff for him to sell. Ta’ala Jr said he drove his truck to Satele’s home in Pago, and when he arrived, Satele loaded a brand new sewing machine [still in the box] and a bag with a laptop, into the truck - and Satele carried the sewing machine from the victim’s house, not his house.

All the items Ta’ala Jr sold online were offered for far below the fair value. The sewing machine, for example, sold for $60 - less than half of what Amazon is selling it for. According to Ta’ala Jr, he and Satele have been friends for more than 2 years and he visits him often. The two are so close, that he calls Satele’s mother “mom”. Both are former security guards at the LBJ Hospital.

Ta’ala Jr told police that their friendship includes sharing and smoking “meth” together when either one of them has money or drugs.

When asked again about the rifle, Ta’ala Jr said he knows Satele took the weapon to “Le Aute” and traded it for a $50 bag of meth, which they smoked at his home in Fagaalu. He said he initially lied about the rifle, because he didn’t know it was stolen. He said Satele told him his aunty had guns in her house, but he had to look for them. According to Ta’ala Jr, Satele never spoke of the gun again until he traded it for drugs to a man at “Le Aute”.

According to the victim, prior to their Apia trip, she frequently saw Ta’ala Jr sitting at night in a truck parked in front of their home. Ta’ala Jr would sit in the truck until daylight, surveilling the house. On occasion, the victim added, Satele would join Ta’ala Jr in the truck for their overnight vigils.

The day before the family left for Apia, the victim said she saw Ta’ala Jr standing under a tree in front of their home; but he hasn’t been around, since police were alerted about the burglary.