Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On June 20, 2024 at about 12:35am, the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) received a call from a cashier at K&B Mart in Futiga who was requesting assistance regarding a drunk customer who allegedly assaulted his co-worker.

The defendant was charged with one count of Assault in the Third Degree — a class A misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment for up to one (1) year, a fine of $1000, or both.

Bail for the defendant was set at $1000.

According to the affidavit, when police officers arrived at the scene, they met with the cashier (reporter) who told them that “a customer walked into the store and asked if he could buy beer but was told that the deadline to buy beers was 10pm.”

The cashier stated, “he told him that he cannot sell him beer, after which his co-worker approached the man and told him to leave but he refused.”

It was then that the customer allegedly grabbed his co-worker by his shirt collar and punched him several times in the face and body and fled. The cashier said that the customer “reeked of alcohol”.

The cashier provided a photo of the customer that he was able to take using his cellphone.

Police officers interviewed the co-worker who was assaulted, who collaborated what the cashier said, adding that it was then that the cashier contacted the TPS to report the incident.

It was noted that police officers were unable to view security footage because the cashier said he does not have access to the cameras, only his boss does.

Police also noted that the man who was assaulted “did not sustain any visible injuries on his face” and when asked if he needed any medical assistance, his response was “no”.

Officers asked the employees to direct them to the area the customer walked towards when leaving the store and they pointed out that it was towards the hill near US Mart in Futiga.

Police officers patrolled the area next to US Mart and asked a male individual if he knew the person in the picture. The individual stated “Yes, I was with him when the incident happened.” He identified the suspect as Charlie Ekueta.

According to the witness, “he walked with Charlie to K&B Mart to buy some cigarettes.” Charlie then “approached the store clerk and asked if he could buy 1 single cigarette from him for $1 but he was told ‘no” and was asked to leave since he was drunk and was distracting customers inside the store.”

Charlie became angry and grabbed the store clerk by the collar. The clerk punched Charlie and they got into a fist fight. The witness explained that “he got involved and pushed Charlie away and told him to leave.” Afterwards, they left the store and went their separate ways.

Officers asked the witness to direct them to Charlie’s home and as they made their way towards the residence, they observed a man walking the opposite way. Police officers then asked the male individual who resembled the man in the photo if he was Charlie and he responded “yes”. The suspect was apprehended and as the officers escorted him to the police unit, they detected a strong odor of alcohol emitting from the suspect.

The officers took Mr. Ekueta back to the scene for the workers at K&B Mart to identify as the individual who assaulted a worker. The cashier and his co-worker did identify Charlie as the assault suspect.

The suspect was then transported to the TPS to be processed.

He was Mirandized and officers observed him as he swerved from left to right and kept falling asleep. The suspect had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, and emitted a strong odor of alcohol from his breath.

The suspect was booked and later transported to the Tafuna Correctional Facility (TCF) to be confined.

The defendant was identified as a 36-year-old citizen of Samoa.

The affidavit did not explain if Mr. Ekueta went there to buy beer or cigarettes or both, as both reasons were mentioned in the report.