Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man, who was driving a stolen vehicle, was taken into custody last week and held for 48 hours after police allegedly discovered a quantity of illegal drugs, live ammunition, drug paraphernalia and cash inside the vehicle. To top it off, the driver had an active warrant from 2018 and is an overstayer from Samoa.

Thomas Lelevaga, a.k.a “Flying Tom” made his initial appearance in court last week where he was served with the copy of the arrest warrant containing all the charges and the information regarding the government’s cases against him.

Lelevaga, 34, is charged in 3 separate cases.

In the first case, he is charged with one count of unlawful possession of methamphetamine; one count of unlawful possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute; one count of unlawful possession of marijuana, all unclassified felonies which carry an imprisonment sentences between 5 to 10 years, a fine between $5,000 and $20,000, or both; along with one count of unlawful possession of ammunition, a class A misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment of up to 1 years, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. Lelevaga’s bail for this case is set at $20,000.

In the second case, Lelevaga is charged with one count of stealing and one count of 1st degree burglary, both class C felonies, punishable by imprisonment of up to 7 years, a $5,000 or pursuant to A.S.C.A 46.2101, a fine equal to twice the amount of gain from the commission of said crime, up to a maximum of $20,000, or both. Bail in this case is set at $15,000

In the third case, Lelevaga is charged with one count of attempted stealing and one count of attempted burglary, both class D felonies, punishable by imprisonment of up to 5 years, a $5,000 fine or both. Bail for this case is set at $10,000.

Preliminary examination for all three cases against Lelevaga is scheduled for Thursday next week, Apr. 23rd at 10a.m.

THE FIRST CASE

According to the government, a black Toyota pick-up with no license plate light was stopped by a police officer on Apr. 3rd at around 10:12p.m in the Vaitogi area. Lelevaga was in the vehicle with three male individuals, including 2 adults and one juvenile, a 16-year-old boy.

When asked to provide his driver’s license, Lelevaga  showed it — however, it had expired 3 years ago. When the police officer checked the light of the rear license plate, he discovered that the sticker on the plate (8204) did not match the number on the license plate (8042). The officer contacted the Central Police Station Dispatcher for Registration and Ownership information, and the status of the vehicle's license plate and tags.

The information provided noted that the license plate expired in August 2017. The officer cited Lelevaga and told him the vehicle would be impounded at the Tafuna Substation.

Before Lelevaga, the vehicle, along with the three passengers were all transported to the Tafuna Substation for further investigation, police conducted a body search of the four to make sure they were not in possession of anything illegal such as drugs or weapons.

The three passengers were clear, however, when police searched the defendant, they discovered a medium sized baggie inside the right pocket of his pants. Inside the baggie were 4 small stamp-sized baggies containing white crystalline substance.

At the Tafuna Substation, Lelevaga was present during the inventory search of his impounded vehicle. It was then that an army bag was discovered under the driver’s seat that was shown to Lelevaga and he was asked him who owned it. Lelevaga said he didn't know. The cop then asked Lelevaga about the white substance found inside one of the ziplock baggies inside the bag. Lelevaga allegedly responded, “It looks like ice (methamphetamine).”

Also discovered inside the bag was a small baggie containing green leafy substance, live ammunition and drug paraphernalia.

As the search continued to the rear side of the vehicle, Lelevaga stated to police that the vehicle does not belong to him, but to his sister’s husband who is serving time at the Territorial Correctional Facility (TCF).

As they spoke, the Tafuna Substation received a phone called from a man in Ottoville saying that his black Toyota pick-up had been stolen from his house while he was working. The caller further stated to police that the only person who could do that was a guy by the name of “Flying Tom’, a mechanic man from Kokoland.

One of the passengers of the vehicle agreed to speak with police regarding the incident. According to the passenger’s statement, he, along with his two cousins caught a ride with Lelevaga in Futiga and they knew nothing about a bag with drugs inside because Lelevaga didn’t have a bag with him when he picked them up.

When asked about the drugs, Lelevaga admitted to police that all the drugs found inside the vehicle and on him belonged to him. He did not wish to offer any more information to police.

It was during the interview that police discovered that Lelevaga had an active arrest warrant from an attempted burglary case two years ago.

THE STOLEN VEHICLE CASE

When police questioned Lelevaga about the stolen vehicle, the defendant admitted that he went to his friend’s home in Ottoville and stole his vehicle without any authorization. Lelevaga told police that his friend owed him $1,200 for the two vehicles he fixed last year.

According to the victim’s statement to police, Lelevaga broke into his house by damaging the back door. He then stole the vehicle’s key hanging on the wall and then took off with the vehicle.

The victim further stated to police that a man who lives next door told him a blue taxi dropped off Lelevaga at his house not long after he (victim) left for work. The neighbor confirmed the break-in, including seeing Lelevaga exit the victim’s house, get into the victim’s vehicle and drive off.

THE ATTEMPTED BURGLARY CASE

When questioned by police regarding the attempted burglary, Lelevaga admitted that he attempted to break inside his uncle’s home in Kokoland around October of 2018.

The government alleged that on Oct. 21, 2018 around 6:10a.m, a woman called police for assistance after her husband’s nephew tried to break into their home on the night before, Oct. 20th.

Lelevaga was unable to gain entry inside the house, so he tried to steal his uncle’s tool box from the garage, however, he threw it down and ran away after a neighbor called out to him that he’s calling police.

The next morning the neighbor explained to the family what had happened and the woman called and notified police.

The woman further told police that this is not the first time her husband’s nephew allegedly did this to them. In July of 2018, Lelevaga broke into their house at night and stole her husband’s wallet with $210 cash inside, along with other items. The incident was discussed between the two families and nothing was reported to police.