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UPDATE: American Samoan man in federal drug case out on bail

Alapati Talimalo Vaivai
fili@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The American Samoa man, arrested here late last month and taken to Hawaii on a federal drug case, has been granted unsecured bail by the federal court in Honolulu for release from the federal prison with several conditions.

Federal Bureau of Prisons public online records show the defendant’s full name as Alapati Talimalo Vaivai, who is 26 years old.

As previously reported by Samoa News, the defendant made his initial appearance Sept. 28 at the Honolulu federal court where he entered a not guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

He returned to court on Oct. 2, for a detention hearing, where he was released on a $25,000 unsecured bond, under several conditions including that he is released from federal prison to the Mahoney Hale, according to court documents.

According to its website, Mahoney Hale is a facility which houses men and women reentering the community after completing long-term prison sentences. “We are a unique, private non-profit with a trauma-informed approach,” it says.

The court also imposed curfew restrictions for the defendant while at the facility and any request to leave the facility must be approved in advance. Additionally, the defendant’s movements outside of Mahoney Hale are subject to GPS tracking and monitoring. His travel is restrictedly to the island of Oahu, Hawaii.