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COURT REPORT: Multiple PPD charges — some charged for illegal drugs as well

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ausage@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man convicted for public peace disturbance (PPD) while on probation was sentenced last month to serve 15 days at the Territorial Correctional Facility (TCF) as a condition of 12 months probation.

Sa Aifili was placed on probation for 6 months after he was convicted last year for PPD, a class B misdemeanor. One of the many conditions of probation included keeping the peace with his girlfriend and remaining law abiding.

In the beginning of this year, police re-arrested him on another PPD charge for which he was convicted last month, the same date he was sentenced to 15 days incarceration for violating his 12-month probation. Aifili will have to spend 8 weekends in jail to cover his 15-days detention period.

He was ordered to report to jail on Fridays at 6 p.m. and would be released on Sundays at 6 p.m.

Aifili was arrested during a PPD in Ottoville where he and his friends were involved in a fight with other young men from the neighborhood. He was loud and yelled profanities while holding a beer bottle in his hand.

VICTOR AMOSA

A man from Futiga who fled police officers was later apprehended after police found him sleeping in front of a nearby store. Victor Amosa made his initial appearance in court last week where he was released on his own recognizance to await his next hearing, which is set for June 5th, 2021.

Amosa, who holds a valid immigration ID of P5 status, is charged with public peace disturbance, resisting arrest and prohibited place of consumption, all misdemeanors.

The government alleges that on Apr. 24, 2021 around 10:20p.m. two police officers in a police unit in the Futiga area observed an unknown male who threw a beer bottle in front of a church building in the area.

The unknown male was later identified as Victor Amosa the defendant in this case. Amosa has two prior convictions back in 2013 and 2016.

Officers pulled over in front of the church building in an effort to confront the male individual, however, the defendant fled the scene and he was pursued on foot by the two officers. He ran behind the church building and shouted to the officers to come and get him.

Officers observed open beer bottles along with the empty beer bottles Amosa was throwing.

A few hours later, around 1:32a.m. the next morning, the same officers saw the defendant sleeping in front of a nearby store. Officers pulled over to apprehend the defendant, and when the defendant woke up, he resisted arrest and tried to run but officers quickly cuffed his hands and placed him inside the police unit.

Upon arrival at the police station, the defendant was observed as confused and uncooperative. At the same time, the arresting officers noticed a strong odor of alcohol on the defendant’s breath. His eyes were also red.

BACKGROND

In 2013, Amosa was ordered to serve 45 days at the Territorial Correctional Facility (TCF) as a condition of his 24 months probation, after being convicted of 3rd degree assault and trespass.

The convictions stemmed from an incident where Amosa went to his neighbor’s house uninvited and assaulted a man for throwing rocks at his dog.

Three years later in 2016, Amosa was arrested and later convicted with another assault conviction. This time, he assaulted a man during a drinking session by punching him in the face, choking his neck and stealing his wallet containing $200 cash.

IOELU LAFOGA

A man arrested during a public peace disturbance in the Tafuna area is now charged with violating local drug laws after police officers discovered illegal drugs in his possession.

The government alleges that on Mar. 22, 2021 around 9:30p.m, the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) received a call from a man requesting police assistance due to a fight that had occurred outside of an Asian store in the Tafuna area. Several police officers responded and met up with the caller who then briefed them about the incident.

As cops approached the caller, they observed four male individuals standing on the other side of the store. The caller pointed towards the four men and stated to officers that the four men had gotten into a fight with two other men who had already left the area, where one of the four men struck another man causing him to fall to the ground. Meanwhile, the other two men attempted to stop the fight.

Officers approached the four men, apprehended them and placed them in the police unit while officers continued to speak to the caller and other eyewitness about the alleged fight. While speaking to several eyewitnesses, officers received a call from the TPS that a man walked into TPS claiming that he was assaulted by two men and he wanted to file a complaint against the two who allegedly assaulted him.

Before placing the four men into the police unit, all of them were frisked and during a pat down, one of them, later identified as Ioelu Lafoga the defendant in this matter, was discovered with what appeared to be a rolled up brown paper bag with a green leafy substance in one of his pockets.

When asked what it was, Lafoga responded, “What do you think it is? It’s weed.”

Lafoga and three other men were transported to the TPS for further investigation.

When arrived at the TPS, the victim pointed out that it was Lafoga who assaulted him while the other man, later identified as Matthew Iosefa, kicked him in the back while he was down on the ground.

When questioned by investigators, Lafoga refused to make a statement about the incident. He decided to remain silent. The green leafy substance was tested and the test indicated that the substance showed positive for THC (tetrahydrocannbinol), the active compound found in marijuana.

An eyewitness told investigators that she was at the store when the fight broke out outside of the store. She saw Lafoga punched the victim in the facial area before choked him in the neck while the victim was lying on the ground. The witness saw another man, later identified as Iosefa kick the victim in the back.

Co-defendant, Iosefa was also charged with 3rd degree assault while the other two men were released. Iosefa was released on his own recognizance to await his next court hearing, which is scheduled for next month.

He is charged with one count of unlawful possession of marijuana, an unclassified felony, punishable by a term of imprisonment from 5-10, a fine of up to $20,000 or both.

Bail is set at $5,000.