Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man with a prior conviction for assault in the 3rd- degree 4 years ago was sentenced by the Court last week to 5 years probation after being convicted for violating local drug laws.

Kamuta Togiaso, who was released on bond, appeared in Court last week for sentencing.

Togiaso, under a plea agreement with the government, accepted by the court, pled guilty to the amended lesser charge of unlawful possession of methamphetamine (meth), a class D felony, punishable by imprisonment of up to 5 years, a fine of up to $5,000 or both.

With his guilty plea, Togiaso admits that Aug. 12, 2021 he unlawfully possessed a glass pipe containing meth.

When given the chance to address the court, he apologized to the court for committing a crime and requested the court for another chance to continue his service to his family.

The defense attorney asked the court to sentence his client to a period of probation without any additional period of detention. He said that his client is truly remorseful for what he did and takes full responsibility for his action.

According to the defense, his client works full time at a local construction company to provide for his family. He told the court that a probated sentence would allow his client to continue with his employment and to provide for his family.

The prosecutor echoed the defense’s submission saying that the defendant is a suitable candidate for a probated sentence. The government’s attorney stated to the court that the quantity of meth found in the defendant’s possession proves that it was for personal use.

The court agreed.

Togiaso was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment and a $2,000 fine. Execution of sentence was suspended and the defendant was placed on probation for 5 years subject to several conditions.

The defendant was sentenced to time served in TCF before he posted bond. The balance of his detention — 20 months — was stayed until further order of the court.

The defendant was ordered to ‘stay clean’ and is subject to random drug testing to make sure he’s in compliance.

The court further ordered that he continue to be employed with the construction company he’s currently working at right now to support his family. He must also attend and complete substance abuse counseling and be law abiding.

BACKGROUND

On Aug. 12, 2021 at around 6p.m, several police officers including detectives from the DPS Vice and Narcotics Unit responded to an incident involving a vehicle in Nu’uuli where drugs were discovered during a traffic stop.

Togiaso was a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped and then impounded for expired tags. During a pat down, before being taken to TPS, a pipe with meth inside it was found on Togiasa.

(The white crystalline substance was field-tested and the test results yielded positive for meth.)

FAANATI SEILALA

A passenger in a vehicle has been convicted for unlawful possession of meth and was sentenced to a term of probation.

As a condition of his probation, Faanati Seilala was ordered to depart the territory and remain outside of its borders for the period of his probation however, this condition was stayed, for good behavior.

Seilala, who was released from custody after the court accepted his plea agreement with the government last month, appeared in court last week for sentencing.

Under a plea agreement with the government, Seilala pled guilty to the lesser charge of unlawful possession of meth. With his guilty plea, he admits that on Sept. 21, 2021 he possessed a glass pipe containing meth, while he was a passenger inside a vehicle, pulled over by police for a traffic violation.

The defense attorney asked the court to sentence his client to time served and place him on probation. He told the court that ever since his client was released from custody by the court last month, he has gone back home and has immediately secured gainful employment to support his family.

The defense attorney said his client has learned his lesson from the 10 months he spent in custody before he was released by the court on his own recognizance and he’s truly remorseful for what he’s done.

When given the chance to address the court, Seilala apologized for his actions and told the court that he has learned his lesson and he now realizes that hanging out with wrong friends will end up in big trouble.

He told the court that ever since he was released from custody, he has abided with all the conditions the court gave him.

The prosecutor agreed with the defense’s submission and asked the court to sentence the defendant to a term of probation.

Seilala was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment and a $2,000 fine. Execution of the sentence was suspended and the defendant was placed on probation for 5 years, subject to several conditions.

He was ordered to serve a period of detention of 20 months without any release. He will be credited for the 10 months he already served, while awaiting the outcome of this matter. The balance of detention was stayed until further order of the court.

Upon release from custody, Seilala was ordered to depart the territory and remain outside of its borders for the duration of his probation, which is 5 years. However, this condition was also stayed based on his good behavior.

The court ordered the defendant to ‘stay clean’ and is subject to random testing at any time to make sure he’s in compliance.

BACKGROUND

On Sept. 21, 2021, a vehicle was stopped in Utulei, by police for not having current license tags. The vehicle was impounded and the driver and two passengers were searched per routine.

The front passenger, later identified as Seilala, a co-defendant in this case, during his pat down was discovered to have a hard object inside his right lower pocket. When asked what was inside of his pocket, Seilala responded, “it’s drugs”.

The white substance inside the pipe later tested positive for meth.

Co-defendant and the driver of the vehicle, Apelu Maalona’s case is still pending in court.

The second passenger inside the vehicle was released to go home after he was searched and interviewed by investigators.

UALESI SOOTAGA

A young man convicted of burglary was released from custody last week after the court decided that the 13 months he served while awaiting the outcome of his case was quite enough to be his detention with this matter.

Ualesi Sootaga, who has been in custody since his arrest last year appeared in Court last week for sentencing.

Sootaga, in a plea agreement with the government, accepted by the Court in June of this year, pled guilty to 2nd- degree burglary, a class D felony, punishable by imprisonment of up to 5 years, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.

When given the chance to address the court, So’otaga apologized for his crime and asked the court for another chance to return home to be with his family and seek employment to provide food for his parents and young siblings.

The defense attorney asked the court for a probated sentence without any additional period of detention. He informed the court that his client has served over 13 months at the TCF while awaiting the outcome of his case.

The defense attorney further stated to the court that his client is truly remorseful for his crime and he takes full responsibility for what he did.

The prosecutor echoed the defense’s submission and told the court that the defendant is a suitable candidate for a probated sentence.

When questioned about the defendant’s immigration status, the defense attorney informed the court that based on the information he received from the government a request to renew the defendant’s immigration status had already been filed at the Immigration Office by the defendant’s mother. The only thing left is for the defendant to take his photo for his immigration identification (I.D).

The prosecutor confirmed to the court that a petition to renew the defendant’s ID was filed at the immigration office while the defendant was in custody.

After reviewing submissions from both parties, along with the defendant’s statement and the Pre Sentence Report, the court stated that the defendant’s conviction stems from an incident where he unlawfully entered into the home of another person and stole several items, which cost over $1,239.

The good news is, according to the court, the stolen items were recovered by cops and returned to the owner.

Based on the information from the PSR, the defendant had not completed school, he was unemployed and living a simple life before he was arrested for his crime.

So’otaga was sentenced to 7 years imprisonment. Execution of the sentence was suspended and the defendant was placed on probation for 5 years subject to several conditions.

He’s ordered to serve 20 months at the TCF. He will be credited for the 13 months he already served while awaiting his case. The court will defer the balance of detention. The defendant was released from custody forthwith after his sentence was announced.

He’s order to pay $1,000 fine within the first 12 months of his probation. Other conditions is for the defendant to remain law abiding, have no contact with the defendant and seek and acquire gainful employment.

The court reminded the defendant that there is a lot of detention time remaining for his probation and if he violates any of the conditions of his probation at anytime, he will be ordered to serve all the remaining period of his imprisonment terms of over 4 and half years.