FETAUI FITIAO

The High Court has sentenced Fetaui Fitiao to serve 18 months in prison and pay a $500 fine for marijuana possession and a DUI after he entered into a plea agreement earlier this year with the government.

The jail term is a condition of his five-year probation handed down by the court during sentencing last Friday. Charges against the defendant surfaced when he was stopped by police on Jan. 1, 2014 for speeding. At the time, police found eleven marijuana cigarettes in his truck, and he also failed a sobriety test.

During sentencing, prosecutor Tony Graf told the court that the defendant’s driving while under the influence of alcohol was dangerous enough, but it was worse because there were people in the bed of the pick up truck he was driving.

He also pointed out that this is the second time the defendant has been found guilty of a DUI and asked for the maximum penalty under the law for Fitiao, who apologized to the court for his crime and asked for a chance to be released to go home to care for his family.

Chief Justice Michael Kruse acknowledged this is the second DUI offense for the defendant, who does not appear to have learned his lesson the first time. Kruse agreed with the prosecutor that it was a serious matter because there were passengers in the bed of the defendant’s truck and because he also had marijuana in his possession, when arrested by police.

TAAVILI PENIAMINA

Taavili Peniamina was sentenced last Friday by the District Court to 12 months probation after entering a guilty plea earlier this year to a misdemeanor charge of assault in the third degree. The charge stemmed from an incident in April this year, when the defendant assaulted a man who was arguing with him outside of the Bowling Alley building.

The court stressed to the defendant that one of the conditions of his probation is that he stay away from the Bowling Alley. He is also prohibited from consuming alcohol, and barred from making any direct or indirect contact with the victim in this case. He was ordered to pay a $100 fine and complete alcohol counseling.

District Court Judge John Ward’s final words to the defendant were to “stop the use of alcohol now, before anything worse happens that will greatly affect you.”

MICHAEL SENE

The government filed on Monday felony charges against 20-year old Michael Sene, who was arrested late last week for breaking into a home and allegedly touching a woman in her private area while she was sleeping. The defendant is now charged with first degree burglary and sexual abuse, along with the misdemeanor charge of under age drinking.

Sene’s case was bound over to High Court ,where he was arraigned on Tuesday. He entered not guilty pleas to all charges through his attorney, assistant public defender Michael White. The defendant remains in the Territorial Correctional Facility unable to post a $20,000 bail, and his pre-trial conference is set for Aug. 18.

According to court information, police were contacted by a member of the victim’s family just before 1a.m. yesterday for help. Upon arrival at the scene, police were informed by the victim that while she was sleeping, she felt a hand touching her left leg, then move up her thigh to her private area.

It’s alleged that the defendant held her and tried to calm her down, while asking her if they “could talk and hang out”. When the victim managed to get away from the defendant, she ran over to turn on lights near the door, which she then opened and screamed for help. By this time, the defendant had stood up and jumped out of the window.

Police were able to locate the defendant, who was taken into custody for questioning, but on the way to the police substation, the defendant allegedly volunteered information to police that he had received phone calls earlier from the victim, who wanted him to come over to her place. This statement was rejected by the victim as false, saying that she never called the defendant, whom she had seen around the village playing volleyball.

At the police substation, police noticed a strong odor of alcohol from the defendant’s breath and officers also noticed blood shot eyes as well as scratches on his feet. The defendant is currently charged with public peace disturbance while police continue their investigation.

(Original versions of these stories were published in Samoan in this week's Lali section of Samoa News)