Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A 31-year-old man with an outstanding arrest warrant was picked up by police last month and charged with unlawful possession of drugs after a man told authorities that his nephew bought two marijuana cigarettes and a glass pipe containing methamphetamine (meth) from him.

Kilifi Brown made his initial appearance in court last month.

The government has filed two separate criminal cases against Brown, who is also on probation for a felony conviction in High Court from 2017 where he was convicted of burglary and stealing.

In the first case, Brown, a.k.a. “Niki” is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana (weed) with the intent to distribute and one count of meth with the intent to distribute, both unclassified felonies punishable by imprisonment between 5-10 years, a fine between $5,000- $20,000 or both.

In the second case, he is charged with unlawful possession of weed, and unlawful possession of meth both felonies.

The court established bond at $10,000 cash for the first case; and $5,000 surety for the second case.

Defense attorney asked the court to reduce his client’s bail to $2,000 for both cases, but the prosecutor opposed the reduction arguing that Brown is not new to the court system, and his actions in these two cases show the type of person he is.

The prosecutor further asked the court to maintain the bail amount for both cases, and the court agreed.

Of note, when a police officer instructed Brown last month in the courtroom to sign a copy of the criminal complaint filed against him, Brown refused, saying all the allegations against him are not true and he wanted to know why he was arrested in the first place.

THE ALLEGATION

 According to the government, a man from Ottoville contacted police for assistance, after he found two marijuana cigarettes and a glass pipe containing meth in his nephew’s wallet that was left in his vehicle. The man told police he’s tired of his nephew’s routine — spending money to buy drugs from a man named “NIKI” every time he gets paid.

The man further stated that when he confronted his nephew two months ago about a marijuana cigarette he found in the vehicle used by his nephew, he (nephew) kept on lying to him saying he have no idea who owned the marijuana cigarette found in the vehicle.

According to the man, when he inquired about the drugs he found in his nephew’s wallet, his nephew lied to him again saying he doesn’t know anything about the drugs. However, after he told his nephew that he’s going to call police regarding the drugs, his nephew then told him he bought them from his friend Niki, who is a bus driver.

The man told police that this is the same name he got from his other nephews who told him that there is a bus driver who comes around their area every Saturday morning selling drugs to anybody in the village including his nephew.

Samoa News understands that the man’s nephew was arrested two months ago and charged with third degree assault and PPD, on the allegations that he assaulted another man during a drinking session.

An arrest warrant was issued for Brown following a report submitted by the DPS to the AG’s Office. On Apr. 23rd, 2021, police were on their way to locate Brown at his home, however, his wife informed officers that Brown was at work.

However, while officers were patrolling the Tafuna area on the same afternoon, they observed Brown in front of a store in Tafuna, where they stopped and informed him of the warrant for his arrest; to which, Brown immediately turned around and ran to the other side of the road.

He was later apprehended by officers and transported to the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) for further investigation.

When he was patted down, a clear ziplock baggie — containing what appeared to be green leafy substance — fell from the front right side of Brown’s pants.

Police also found a glass pipe (commonly used to smoke meth) containing a white crystalline substance residue, in the right pocket of his pants.

The green leafy substance tested positive for THC, an active ingredient in weed, while the white crystalline substance found in the glass pipe tested positive for meth.

When questioned by investigators, Brown said that he received a phone call from a man saying that he wanted to buy drugs from him. He contacted his other friend in Vaitogi to see if he had any drugs left. He went to Vaitogi and picked up a small stamp sized baggie containing weed and a glass pipe containing meth and went back to his home. He then contacted his friend from Ottoville to come to his place and pick up the stuff.

Brown has denied the accusation that he sells drugs. He said he bought drugs from a man in Vaitogi using his own money and gave it to his friend from Ottoville. He told investigators that his friend from Ottoville never pays him any money for the drugs he gives him because he did it for him as a friend.

BACKGROUND

Brown was one of the men the High Court sentenced to 28 months imprisonment back in July 2017, after they were convicted of burglarizing a home and a store in Pago Pago.

Brown and his co-defendant were each convicted of first-degree burglary and stealing, both class C felonies.

The incident came to light when a woman whose house was burglarized saw a young girl wearing a T-shirt belonging to her daughter. When the man confronted the girl about the T-shirt, the girl said it belonged to her brother, Alex Sinapati.

Sinapati was Brown’s co-defendant.

When police searched Sinapati’s home — Brown was there — along with several stolen items including clothes, shoes, DVD players, cell phones, several electronics tools and a laptop. Most of the stolen items were returned to the owners.