FA’ANENEFU HALL

A woman accused by the government of using a “sharp object” to assault another person, is being held without bail due to the seriousness of the crime, which caused injuries to the victim.

Fa’anenefu Hall made her initial appearance in District Court on Tuesday. She is  charged with felony first degree assault and misdemeanor public peace disturbance. However, Assistant Attorney General Gerald Murphy informed the court the government plans to file additional charges against the defendant.

According to court information, the charges against the defendant stem from an incident that occurred earlier this week in Leone, whereby the Leone police substation was contacted for help. The government alleges that the defendant used a sharp object — a broken piece of glass — to stab the left hand and face of the victim, who suffered injuries and had to be taken to the hospital. No specific details were available at press time as to the extent of the injuries.

Samoa News understands that the victim was still hospitalized as of Tuesday morning.

The alleged stabbing occurred inside a home. A witness told police about hearing a noise coming from inside the house, a sound of glass being broken, a piece of which was allegedly used in the stabbing.

During Tuesday’s initial appearance, District Court Judge Fiti Sunia ordered the defendant to be detained with no bail, although Assistant Public Defender Kate Hannaher requested the court to set bail so that Hall can be released from jail to care for her 6-month-old baby, who is being breastfed.

Hannaher argued that her client is not a flight risk, would not commit any other crime, and the crime she is charged with is something that happened suddenly.

Sunia rejected the motion, pointing to the seriousness of the crime.

Sunia asked the female correctional officer, who accompanied the defendant to court, if the Territorial Correctional Facility can set up a plan, so the defendant will have a chance to breastfeed her infant child at TCF.

The officer said they will look into this issue immediately, and work on a schedule.

Hall was due back in court yesterday during which the government was to file additional charges; but the hearing was canceled and continued to today.

GRANDMOTHER CHARGED WITH ALLEGED ASSAULT OF GRANDDAUGHTER

A 66-year-old grandmother from the east side has been arrested for allegedly assaulting her 11-year-old granddaughter.

The grandmother made her initial appearance in District Court on Tuesday and was charged with misdemeanor third degree assault, although the government is looking at filing additional charges at a later time, once the investigation is completed.

According to court information, police had received a report about an 11-year-old who suffered injuries resulting from an alleged assault by her grandmother. It wasn’t immediately clear  who reported the incident to the police and when it occurred.

However, the report prompted a police investigation, which revealed that the grandmother allegedly used various types of PVC pipes to hit the child on different parts of her body, causing injuries to the little girl, according to court information.

Bail for the defendant was set at $2,000 but the defense argued for a reduction. District Court Judge Fiti Sunia granted the motion and lowered the bail amount to $1,000

If the grandmother is able to post bail, Sunia has ordered her not to make any direct or indirect contact with her granddaughter, who can no longer reside at the grandmother’s home.

Assistant Attorney General Gerald Murphy confirmed to the court that the 11-year-old is now in the care of the government.

ROY PITOLAU

For violating conditions of his probation from a previous case, Roy Pitolau was sentenced by the District Court earlier this week to serve 45 days at the Territorial Correctional Facility.

The Family, Drug and Alcohol (FDA) Division of the High Court had sentenced Pitolau to 24 months probation after being convicted last year of misdemeanor third-degree assault. The court also set at the time, several conditions of probation the defendant must abide by, which included being a law abiding citizen.

However, last month Pitolau was convicted in District Court for misdemeanor public peace disturbance, prompting the Probation Office to file a motion to revoke probation. The motion was granted by the court.

District Court Judge Fiti Sunia informed the defendant that when he was placed on probation by the FDA, a jail term of 45 days was suspended under several conditions. However, Sunia said, the District Court has revoked probation and the 45-day jail term has been imposed.

Upon his release from jail, Pitolau has been ordered by Sunia to continue complying with all the conditions handed down in the FDA case, because failure to do so, means the defendant will receive a more harsh jail sentence.