Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — One of the three men arrested last year after police discovered 3g of a white crystalline substance and drug paraphernalia inside a truck is going to jail.

Faapito Senio, who has been in custody since his arrest, unable to post a $5,000 surety bond, appeared in High Court last week for a disposition hearing and sentencing.

The court ordered him to serve 12 months at the Territorial Correctional Facility (TCF).

Senio, 35, was represented by Assistant Public Defender Ryan Anderson, while prosecuting the case was Assistant Attorney General Kristine Soule’.

Senio was initially charged with unlawful possession of methamphetamine (meth), a class D felony. But under a plea agreement with the government, which was accepted by the court, Senio pled guilty to a lesser amended charge, a class D felony punishable by up to 5 years in jail, a fine of up to $5,000 or both.

When given a chance to speak, Senio apologized to the court, the American Samoa Government, and also his family and village for his actions, and asked for another chance to return home to care for his family.

He told the judge that if given another chance, he will be a changed man and will comply with all the laws of the territory. "I know what I did was wrong, but I assure you that I am truly remorseful and want to go back home to be with my family,” Senio said.

The defense asked the court to adopt the recommendation of the Probation Office, to place his client on probation for 5 years without serving any additional period of detention.

He said he read the pre-sentence report and agrees with Probation, that this is his client's second conviction for unlawful possession of drugs. He asked the court to order his client to attend substance abuse counseling, to help him with his addiction.

“Senio is a talented man who is willing to change his life. He has an issue with drug addiction and I told him that if he continues to live like this, he will waste many years of his life at TCF,” the defense attorney told the court.

The prosecutor echoed the defense attorney’s statement and agreed to a probated sentence, saying the defendant needs to attend substance abuse counseling to address his addiction problem.

“He was on probation when police arrested him last year. The government agrees that this defendant has a drug addiction problem and we ask the court to give him another chance to address it, and to seek employment to pay any fine if the court imposes a fine in this case,” the prosecutor said.

The Court wanted to know if there is any substance abuse counseling available inside the TCF. The prosecutor said no, the programs are only offered by the government and some private entities outside of TCF.

The court asked whether Senio was ordered to attend any substance abuse counseling when he was placed on probation in his previous case. The prosecutor said one of the conditions of probation was to attend and complete counseling, however, that was not done.

Before the defendant’s sentence was handed down, the Court recapped the facts of the case.

The charge stems from the incident that occurred Oct. 27th, 2020 when police officers allegedly found a glass pipe containing a white crystalline substance and several small plastic baggies on the floor of the police unit where he was sitting.

Senio and another male identified as Jeremiah Setu were in a truck driven by Lautala Fiu, when a patrol officer pulled them over in Iliili around 7:30pm.

Fiu was arrested and charged with unlawful possession of illegal drugs after detectives of the Vice & Narcotics Unit allegedly found a crystalline substance and drug paraphernalia inside a bag that was under the passenger’s seat of the vehicle where Atonio was sitting.

Police interviewed Senio and Setu that night and both men were released without being charged.

However, the following night around 7:23p.m, the same patrol officer along with a female senior police officer spotted a vehicle with light defects while patrolling in the Tafuna area.

The male officer also recognized the passenger inside the vehicle as Atonio, the men were the same two who were released the night before, as passengers in Fiu’s vehicle.

Both men were taken to the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) for questioning.

Seetu agreed to let one of the cops drive him to the TPS while he sat in the passenger seat. But Senio resisted, saying he needed to purchase “cash power” for their home in Nu’uuli — but then later agreed to go with police.

Before he got into the police unit, cops checked the back seat to make sure everything was clear before Senio entered.

Upon arriving at the TPS, the two police officers that escorted Atonio told detectives that six empty stamp-sized baggies known for packing meth fell out when Senio exited the police unit.

One cop asked Senio about the baggies and he responded, “I don’t know anything about that.”

Police officers immediately conducted a search of the police unit — exactly where Senio had been seated — and found a small black pouch on the floor containing one clear glass pipe covered with white residue; 26 empty stamp sized baggies, and 10 empty medium sized baggies.

Detectives tested the white residue from the glass pipe and it tested positive for meth.

A male officer inside the station also conducted a body search on Senio and found 6 empty stamp-sized baggies, a lighter, and a pack of cigarettes.

Senio, in his verbal and written statement to police, said the glass pipe that was found in the police unit does not belong to him.

The driver of the vehicle Fiu was released after questioning. One month later, he was arrested pursuant to an arrest warrant of the court.

For his previous case, the court did not revoke Senio’s probation. But for his new case, he was sentenced to 12 months at TCF and credited for the 9 1/2 months he already served.

The court told Senio that the “best counseling for you to cure your meth problem is your own home. If you wish to stop going to prison, change your life and stop doing drugs; but if you wish to go back to prison, continue with your drug problem.”

The court concluded, “You’re asking the court to give you another chance to change your life and be with your family. The court is giving you that one opportunity and if you fail, the court will never give you any more chances in the future. So, stop coming to court and stop doing drugs.”

Fiu and Setu’s criminal case are still pending.