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Drunken reveler allegedly assaults store employee

American Samoa District Court building
ausage@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man accused of assaulting another man during a drinking session last week is now in custody after police allegedly found two small baggies containing illegal drugs and a glass pipe — also containing illegal drugs — in his possession.

Christian Niko made his initial appearance in District Court last week. He is charged with one count of unlawful possession of methamphetamine (meth), a felony; and three misdemeanors: third degree assault; trespass; and disturbing the public peace.

Bail is set at $5,000.

Preliminary examination is Friday this week at 1p.m.

THE CASE

On the night of Nov. 15th, police were contacted by a businessman in Faleniu, reporting that one of his employees was being assaulted by a drunken man engaged in a drinking session with three others in front of his store.

When police arrived at the scene, a black truck parked in front of the store sped off. Police were told by the business owner that the driver was the one who assaulted two of his employees.

The prosecution claims that earlier that evening, the black truck had pulled up in front of the store and three men were inside. The trio parked and started drinking in the back of the truck.

One of the men was identified as the defendant, Christian Niko.

Two hours after the drinking session began, the trio started making loud noises and Niko allegedly threw an empty beer bottle in the parking lot. A store employee came out and told the men to leave the premises because they were not allowed to drink there.

A few moments later, Niko entered the store to buy more beer. On his way in, he saw the employee who instructed them to leave — the man was cleaning the floor.

Instead of buying beer, Niko walked over to the employee and allegedly punched him twice in the face, causing the man to fall down. Other employees jumped in to assist their co-worker. Niko ran out, jumped into his vehicle with his friends, and fled the scene before police arrived.

When questioned, the victim told police he was surprised when a huge man walked over to him and started throwing hard punches at his face. He said he didn’t remember how many blows he took because he was trying to cover his face after the first punch landed on his jaw, causing him to fall down, while the man continued to assault him.

Niko was apprehended by police at a store in the Iliili area, and transported to the Tafuna Police Substation for questioning.

A body search netted two small baggies containing a white crystalline substance in his left pocket, and two glass pipes containing a white crystalline substance — all was later tested and found positive for meth.

When asked about the drugs and pipes, Niko told police he found them in front of the Faleniu store during their drinking session. He later admitted that he assaulted a man at the store in Faleniu by punching and kicking his facial area and his back, because the man yelled profanities at him and his friends.