Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man was arrested and taken into custody after drugs were allegedly discovered inside his vehicle when police pulled over his vehicle during a traffic stop in Nu’uuli.

On Feb. 10, 2022 around 6:30 am, two officers patrolling the Nuuuli area stopped a vehicle for speeding. The driver of the vehicle was later identified as Peteru Alema, the defendant in this matter.

According to the officers’ verbal statement to investigators, as they spoke with Alema they observed four cut-up straws on the vehicle floor, along with several empty stamp sized baggies commonly used to sell methamphetamine (meth) and marijuana.

Officers informed Alema about the purpose of the stop and asked him about the paraphernalia seen inside his vehicle. Alema looked down for a moment before he replied that the vehicle didn’t belong to him and he had no idea about the paraphernalia.

When asked for his driver’s license, Alema told officers he did not bring his wallet with him, which contain his essential documents including his driver’s license.

The officers then detained Alema and impounded his vehicle at the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) for further investigation.

Officers also conducted an inventory search of the vehicle in the presence of Alema. During the search, Alema volunteered to the officers that there were drugs inside the vehicle and they did not belong to him.

Officers discovered a glass pipe in the center console with a usable amount of white crystalline substance inside.

The inventory search continued and officers also discovered two hand rolled marijuana cigarettes (joints) under the driver’s seat. Further search resulted in the discovery of a small stamp-sized baggie that also contained a white crystalline substance inside. All the items they found were seized by the police and referred to the Vice & Narcotics detectives for further investigation.

Detectives interviewed Alema after he was Mirandized and Alefosio agreed to make a statement.

According to Alema, on the previous day, he went to help his friend with his plantation in Taputimu. After the hard work on that day, his friend handed him a small black pouch containing all the stuff that was found inside the vehicle.

Testing of all substances revealed positive results for meth and Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), an active compound in the controlled substance marijuana.

Alema made his initial appearance in District Court last month.

He is charged with one count of unlawful possession of meth, a felony punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than five nor more than ten years and a fine of not less than $5,000 note more than $20,000, or both; and one count of possession of marijuana, a class A misdemeanor publishable by a term of imprisonment of up to one year, a fine of $1,000, or both.

Bail is set at $5,000.

TUALEGA MANUELE

A man accused of attempted rape and unlawful possession of drugs was arrested by police last month.

Tualega Manuele, 28, made his initial appearance in District Court last month.

Manuele is charged with one count of unlawful possession of meth, 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.

Bail is set at $25,000.

THE CASE

On Feb. 13, 2022, a woman contacted the TPS for help saying that a man, who she suspected of sexually abusing her 16-year-old daughter, was disturbing the peace in front of her home in Tafuna.

The woman further stated to police that the man was also making threatening remarks towards her family and she’s worried because her husband and son might do something bad to the suspect.

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 reporter’s husband.

The reporter’s husband was holding down the suspect by the neck in the front of the house, while the suspect was screaming and yelling profanities and threatening remarks towards the family.

Police took the matter under control and placed the suspect inside a police unit before interviewing the man, who had been holding the suspect down.

Before the suspect was placed inside the police unit, he was searched for weapons and 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  (VNU)were also informed of the illegal drugs.

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

The woman further stated to police that when she questioned the suspect about what her daughter told her, not only did he strongly deny it but he also shouted profanities at her and accused her daughter of making up false allegations against him.

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 of the land.

The reporter told police that as she was speaking with the suspect, their family vehicle pulled up with her husband and son, arriving home from work. Her husband saw what was happening and immediately handled the situation.

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

SIAOSI PENIATA

A man accused of burglarizing a home in Vailoa is now in custody after he was arrested by police last month.

Siaosi Peniata made his initial appearance in Court last month.

Peniata is charged with one count of burglary in the 1st-degree and one count of stealing, both class C felony, punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to 7 years, a fine of up to $5,000, or pursuant to A.S.C.C 46.2101, a fine equal to twice the amount of gain from the commission of said crimes, up to a maximum of $20,000, or both such fine and imprisonment for each count.

Bail is set at $10,000

On Jan. 7, 2022, a woman called police to report that her Vailoa 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.

Police spoke to an eyewitness who said that on Jan. 7, 2022 at a little past midnight, she observed two young male individuals walking around the house with a flashlight. She said she asked the men what they were looking for and one of them said they were just hanging around the area.

According to the witness, the two male individuals walked around the house and the yard before they disappeared into the brush. The witness told investigators one of the two male individuals she saw is his nephew’s best friend, identified as “George”.

George was later identified as Siaosi Peniata, the defendant in this matter. According to the government, the defendant has a criminal record.

Investigators spoke to a second witness, who stated that on the night of the alleged incident, he saw Peniata’s truck parked in a dark area close to the victim’s house.

Another witness, who lives in the area, came forward and told police that Peniata came to her house and asked if she wanted to buy a laptop and clothes for $100. Peniata told the witness that he really needed money to buy food for his family.

The witness gave Peniata $60 and Peniata handed over the items. The next morning, the witness contacted police and informed them about the items she bought from Peniata.

 Last month, Peniata was arrested by police pursuant to an arrest warrant of the court.

After he was Mirandized, Peniata stated he understood his rights and wished to remain silent and not make a statement.

NIKO ILALIO

A 39-year-old man from Tafuna accused of using a piece of brick to assault another man has been arrested and charged with second-degree assault, a felony, punishable by not more than 5 years imprisonment, and/or a fine of not more than $5,000 or both; and two misdemeanor charges, unlawful use of a weapon and public peace disturbance.

The charges against Niko Ilalio stem from an incident that occurred last month in Tafuna, where according to the police report, Ilalio and the victim got into a disagreement regarding the burglarizing of his sister’s house.

The incident escalated and the victim allegedly assaulted Ilalio and in turn Ilalio assaulted the victim by hitting the victim on the head with a piece of brick.

The victim ran for help while Ilalio followed him in an attempt to strike him again.

Ilalio was apprehended from his girlfriend’s house two days after the incident and was transported to the TPS for questioning, where he admitted using a piece of brick to assault the victim by striking his head twice.

Ilalio apologized to investigators for breaking the laws. He also stated that he’s very sorry for what he did to the victim because the victim is a close friend of his and he considered him as a brother.

Ilalio made his initial appearance in Court last month and bail is set at $10,000.