Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Trial proceedings for a former DOE employee accused of trying to bring illegal drugs into American Samoa kicks off in High Court this morning with jury selection.

Sonny Tui was a full-time employee at the American Samoa Department of Education (ASDOE) when he was arrested in November 2017. He has been in custody since, unable to post a $40,000 surety bond.

He appeared in court last Friday for a pre-jury hearing.

Tui’s attorney, Marcellus Talaimalo Uiagalelei said the defense is ready for trial. Assistant Attorney General Laura Garvey is prosecuting the case.

Tui is charged with three felonies: unlawful possession of a controlled substance (crystal methamphetamine); unlawful possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute; and authorizing illegal drugs to enter American Samoa.

According to the government’s case, a package that was addressed to the defendant arrived on the weekly cargo flight on the last week of November 2017. During a normal check by Customs agents at the airport, a K-9 alerted to the package, which was then marked and placed in a certain area to await pick up.

The following week, Tui went to the airport to uplift his package, and was informed that a normal inspection had to be conducted. When Customs agents asked what was inside the package, Tui told them it contained a Christmas gift for his wife.

Customs agents allegedly found more than 7 ounces of crystal meth inside the package, hidden in a speaker.

LOLENESE AFITU

A father of two, accused of unlawful possession of illegal drugs has entered into a plea agreement with the government.

Lolenese Afitu, who is still in custody unable to post a $5,000 surety bond, was initially charged with two felonies: unlawful possession of a controlled substance (methmaphmetaine) and bribing of a public servant.

Under a plea agreement, Afitu pled guilty to the possession charge.

With his guilty plea, Afitu admits that on the night of May 12, 2018 he had in his possession two glass pipes containing meth which were discovered when he was pulled over by cops for having wrong tags on his rear license plate.

According to terms of the plea agreement, when police officers pulled him over, Afitu immediately told them he has something special inside the vehicle he wants to get rid off before they start their search.

When asked what it was, Afitu told police, “it’s my friend’s ice.” According to Afitu, the two glass pipes belonged to his friends who borrowed his vehicle for two weeks.

When told that he needed to come to the Tafuna Substation, Afitu pulled $120 from his wallet and told the two officers that he'll give them the money if they let him go.

Aftu’s plea agreement was accepted by the court. The remaining bribery charge is dismissed.

Sentencing is set for May 31.

SIOLOGA VAILI

A 30-year-old man who was convicted of receiving stolen items has been sentenced to 2 years probation.

Siologa Vaili, also known as Faavae Siologa was initially charged with one count of conspiracy to steal, a class C felony, punishable by imprisonment up to 7 years, and a fine of up to $5,000 or both; however, under a plea agreement with the government, Vaili pled guilty to the amended charge of receiving stolen property, a class A misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment of up to one year and a fine of up to $1,000 or both.

With his guilty plea, Vaili admits that on Jan. 30, 2018, he received property that was stolen from an Asian store in Malaeimi.

During sentencing last week, Vaili apologized to the court for his actions and asked for a second chance to continue caring for his mother and young children, who were in court.

Assistant Public Defender Rob McNeill said Vaili is a first time offender and asked for a probated sentence without any jail time. He said his client has spent almost 7 months at the Territorial Correctional Facility (TCF), and he lost his job as a result.

Prosecutor Laura Garvey did not oppose the defense's request for probation, saying the 7 months Vaili spent in jail is more than enough punishment for his actions.

Associate Justice Fiti Sunia agreed.

The court noted that the defendant has no prior criminal record in High Court, only a few appearances in District Court. “We do note Mr. Vaili that in 30 years you have managed to keep yourself away from violating the law, until this recent violation when you hung around with the wrong people, or with some other kind of influence which is something you need to address by yourself to make sure you don’t repeat it,” Sunia said.

Vaili was sentenced to 12 months in jail. Execution of the sentence is suspended and he is placed on probation for 2 years under the condition that he remains law abiding, and pay a fine of $1,000 and restitution of $89.