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Taputimu drug defendant- taxi driver sentenced to jail time and probation

American Samoa High Court building
CJ Kruse notes Taisia Lemalie, as an overstayer was driving taxi illegally
ausage@samoanews.com

 

 

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA —  One of the co-defendants in the Taputimu and Alofau drug cases from last year has been ordered by the High Court to serve 20 months at the TCF and thereafter, he is to depart the territory and remain outside of its borders until his 5-year probation term is over.

Taisia Lemalie, 52, was a taxi driver when he was arrested during the early morning hours of Nov. 9, 2017.

He was initially charged with a single count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance, to wit; methamphetamine, a felony punishable by not less than five years or more than ten years in jail, and a fine of not less than $5,000 or more than $20,000 or both.

But under a plea agreement with the government, Lemalie pled guilty to the amended count of unlawful possession of methamphetamine, a class D felony, punishable by not more than 5 years in jail and a fine of not more than $5,000 or both.

Lemalie appeared in court last Friday for sentencing.

He was represented by Public Defender, Michael White while prosecuting the government’s case was Assistant Attorney General, Woodrow Pengelly.

When given the chance to address the court, Lemalie, who was still in custody unable to post a surety bond of $5,000 apologized to the court and the American Samoa Government for his actions.

“I’m a bad person and I know that my actions were not according to the law. Spending 10 months in prison was not a good thing for me, but throughout this whole ordeal, I have learned a lot of good lessons which will help with my life as I move forward to becoming a better person,” Lemalie said. He then asked the court for a second chance so he can return home to care for his family.

Defense attorney White asked the court to adopt the Probation Office’s recommendation, and sentence his client to 5 years probation. White said his client has shown true remorse for what he did, and he has spent almost 10 months behind bars awaiting his sentence. White also asked the court to sentence his client to time served.

Prosecutor Pengelly said the government has already entered into a plea agreement with the defendant and they will leave sentencing up to the court.

Before delivering his decision, Chief Justice Michael Kruse wanted to know who owned the taxi the defendant was driving when he was arrested.

Pengelly did not have an answer. He said that according to the information he received, the taxi “belonged to somebody else.”

Kruse also wanted to know why Lemalie was operating a taxi when according to the Probation Pre Sentence Report (PSR), his immigration status expired in 2014.

Again, the government did not have an answer.

Lemalie was arrested last November.

Kruse referred to the PSR and said it appears that Lemalie was operating a taxi illegally, as he did not have a valid immigration ID, and told the government attorney to look into the case, because the defendant was operating an illegal taxi business when his immigration ID had expired almost 4 years ago.

He added that the case against the defendant is very serious and he also played a key role in it.

According to the court, Taisia, also known as Dice, was one of 3 individuals whose names were included in a search warrant signed by the court late last year. The other two were Cody Wood and former cop, Steven Tuatoo.

The court affidavit notes that Taisia was driving a taxi when he was stopped by police and escorted to the DPS station for investigation.

When police searched the defendant’s vehicle, they discovered a clear glass pipe commonly used to smoke methamphetamine, on the floor of the passenger side; a clear cut up straw, a white striped cut up straw, and two scissors.

Lemalie was sentenced to 5 years under certain conditions.

He has to serve 20 months — without release — at the Territorial Correctional Facility (TCF). Upon serving his period of detention, he is to depart the territory and remain outside of its borders for the entire term of his probation. While at TCF, he is not eligible for trustee status.

He is also ordered to pay a $2,000 fine.

Kruse told Pengelly to find out who is going to pay for the defendant’s fine.

Kruse also ordered that a certified copy of the court's judgment be served to the Chief Immigration Officer to ensure the defendant’s name is on their lookout list.

BACKGROUND

Lemalie was arrested on Nov. 9, 2017 pursuant to a search warrant signed by the court. When questioned by police, Lemalie said the stuff found inside his taxi did not belong to him. He claimed that the meth pipe probably belonged to a passenger who rode in his car.

He told police that the only things that belonged to him were the two scissors, which he used to cut his mustache. He also stated that he drives a lot of people who do drugs and he also helped Tuatoo pick up money from people, and Tuatoo would sometimes ride in his taxi to run errands.

As a condition of his plea agreement with the government, Lemalie has agreed to testify truthfully during the trial of two of his co-defendants: Wood and Tuatoo.

Wood, who is still in custody unable to post a $200,000 surety bond is scheduled to go to trial next year. Tuato’o, who is also in custody unable to post a $100,000 surety bond is scheduled to go to trial at the beginning of 2020.