Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man is now in custody after he was arrested by police last month on stealing and unlawful possession of illegal drug charges.

Taulogo Aleki, made his initial appearance in District Court last month.

The government charged Aleki in two separate cases. In the first case, he is charged with two counts of second-degree burglary and two counts of stealing, both class C felonies, punishable by up to 7 years in jail, a $5,000 fine or, pursuant to A.S.C.A 46.2101, a fine equal to twice the amount of gain from the commission of said crime, up to a maximum of $20K, or both such fine and imprisonment.

In the second case, Aleki is charged with one count of unlawful possession of methamphetamine, a felony, punishably by imprisonment from 5 to 10 years, a fine of up to $20,000 or both; along with one count of attempted rape and one count of 1st-degree sexual abuse, both class D felony, punishable by up to 5 years in jail, a $5,000 or both.

THE FIRST CASE

On May 20, 2021, a woman called police to report that her Iliili home had been burglarized by an unknown person. Cops responded and when they arrived, they observed that the back door was damaged and many items were lying on the floor. Several bedrooms had been ransacked.

A month after the alleged burglary, a witness gave investigators a huge lead in their case by identifying one of the young men she saw at the property on the night of the alleged incident.

The witness said one of the male individuals she observed allegedly entering the house in question is known by the name of ‘Alexander’. Alexander was later identified as Taulogo Aleki, the defendant in this matter.

Investigators spoke to another witness, who stated that on the night of the alleged incident, he saw Aleki’s truck parked in a dark area close to the house that was ransacked on the same week of the alleged burglary, including the night the house was burglarized.

The witness further stated to police that he asked Aleki why his truck was parked on that side of the road, and Aleki told him he was waiting for a friend.

Another man told police that four young men were involved in the burglary, and they gave him a DVD player as a gift, which he turned over to police, who later returned it to the victim.

Another female witness, who lives in the area, came forward and told police that Aleki came to her house and asked if she wanted to buy an iPhone and clothes for $50. Aleki told the witness that he really needed money to buy debit meter time for himself and his young sibling.

The witness gave Aleki $50 and Aleki handed over to the witness a phone and a bag full of clothes. The next morning, the witness contacted police and informed them about the items she bought from Aleki.

Another witness also came forward and showed police the house where Aleki lived. When police visited the home, a woman who was at the house told police that Aleki used to live with them, however, it had been two weeks since he left their family.

Police searched for the suspect but he was nowhere to be found.

THE SECOND CASE

On Jan. 30, 2022, a man contacted the TPS for help saying that the man who sexually abused his 16-year-old daughter was disturbing the peace (PPD), in front of his home in Tafuna.

Several police responded to the call and observed two male individuals arguing in front of a house in the Tafuna area. The two men were later identified as the defendant and the man who reported the alleged PPD.

Police got the matter under control and placed the suspect inside a police unit before interviewing the man who reported the matter. Before the suspect was placed inside the police unit, he was searched for weapons.

During the pat down, police discovered a glass pipe containing a white substance inside his pant’s pocket. The glass pipe was confiscated by police and detectives of the Vice & Narcotics Unit were also informed regarding the alleged illegal drugs.

When questioned by police, the man who reported the matter said that he confronted the defendant after his daughter told him about an incident that occurred two days prior where the defendant allegedly forced his way into their house, went straight to his daughter’s room and sexually abused her by touching her inappropriately before he attempted to rape her while she was sleeping.

The man further stated to police that when he questioned the suspect about what his daughter told him, not only did he strongly deny it, but he also shouted profanities at him and pushed him towards his vehicle. The suspect also threatened to kill the victim’s family and refused to leave the land after he was instructed several times to get off the land.

Police questioned the victim, a 16-year-old girl who echoed her father’s statement. The victim told police that she first met the suspect at a youth volleyball game.

They started talking on the phone for a week until the suspect asked if he could come to her house to see her at night. The victim said no.

In January of this year, the victim said the suspect came to their house at night and called her out, while she was hanging out in the back yard with her young siblings. She told him to leave.

However two nights later, the suspect came to their house again around 11p.m while she was in her room. Her mother and her young siblings were all sleeping and her father was working that night.

While she was lying on her bed, the suspect entered their house and made his way to her room and touched her inappropriately. She told the suspect to leave, but he continue to touch her sexually and then he attempted to rape her. That’s when she yelled out to her mother for help. The suspect ran out of the house and disappeared.

Two days later on Jan. 30, 2022, the victim’s father confronted the suspect about his actions, but he strongly denied it.

During the interview, investigators discovered that there was an active arrest warrant for the defendant over his involvement in a burglary case from Iliili in the middle of last year.

When questioned about the burglary case, the defendant did not respond. He was then served with a copy of the warrant.