Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On December 24, 2023, at about 1:00pm, a woman contacted the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) to report her brother Lawrence McFall, for allegedly causing a disturbance and damaging louvers inside their house.

The defendant was charged with a count of Public Peace Disturbance (DV) — a class C misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment for up to fifteen (15) days, a fine of $300 but not less than $150, or both.

When police officers arrived at the scene, they spoke with the victim who explained the situation. She claims that after she parked her car and as soon as she and her daughter got out of the car, they could hear her brother “yelling and saying stuff about her kids while washing dishes.”

The affidavit says she then told her brother’s wife that they should find another place to stay since this has been an ongoing issue between their families. The suspect’s wife explained to her husband (suspect) that his sister had told them to leave and that was when the defendant began yelling profanities and his sister responded in the same manner.

The argument escalated when the defendant threw a pot at the window and shattered the louvers in their house. The victim stated that the defendant “was walking towards her with a frying pan and that’s when she started swinging her cane but never hit him,” according to the affidavit.

The victim’s daughter pushed her inside the room to calm her, however the suspect kept coming and hitting the wall and punching the door. Eventually the door fell on the victim’s daughter who continued to hold the door while the victim contacted the TPS for assistance. The victim stated that “she feared for her life because this is not the first time it happened and it’s an ongoing situation inside the house they’re living in,” the affidavit said.

Police officer’s interviewed the victim’s daughter who claims that she and her mom arrived home when they heard the suspect complaining about them (victim’s family) not washing the dishes. She explained that her mother (victim) and the suspect got into a heated argument. The suspect “ended up damaging stuff and throwing stuff at the windows while yelling profanities at her mother,” she said adding that “the suspect walked towards her mother with a frying pan and that’s why she started pushing her mother inside and locked the door.”

The victim’s daughter explained that the suspect continued to punch the walls and the door until the door broke, however she held onto the door to protect her mother. It was then that the victim contacted the TPS for assistance with the incident.

Police officers apprehended Lawrence McFall and he was placed in the police unit while officers spoke with his wife, Tausala Mcfall.

She provided a verbal statement in which she explained that she and her husband had just got home from church when they saw dishes in the sink. She said that her sister-in-law’s (victim) daughters were home and did not wash the dishes. Her husband (suspect) told his sister (victim) that her daughters should have washed the dishes since they were home.

She further explained that her husband was upset and began scolding his nieces. It was then that the victim told them that they needed to move out of the house which caused an argument. She stated that her sister-in-law started swinging her cane at her husband and in her husband’s defense she stated that he (suspect) did not want to hit his sister which is why he damaged all the louvers. She also said that her sister-in-law was yelling profanities at her husband, the affidavit affirms.

The defendant was Mirandized and provided his statement.

He explained that when he and his wife got home after church, he saw the sink full of dirty dishes. He washed the dishes and complained to his sister that her daughters should have washed the dishes since they did not attend church.

In the affidavit he explained “he was washing the dishes and he didn’t realize that his sister said something to his wife. That’s when he grabbed the pot and threw it at the louvers.” He revealed that he was “mad” which was why he smashed the louvers and hit the wall. He further expressed that “he never said anything bad to his sister or threatened her.” The suspect claims that “his sister hit him with her cane but he never touched her or put his hands on his sister.”

The suspect was booked and confined at the Tafuna Correctional Facility (TCF) to await the next sitting in District Court.