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Gov’t charges a third man for drugs found at Siaumau compound

American Samoa District Court building
ausage@samoanews.com

 

by Ausage Fauna

Samoa News Reporter

One of the four men who was at the Siaumau family compound in Petesa when armed detectives of the DPS Vice & Narcotics Unit executed a search warrant in July of this year is finally charged.

It’s not confirmed why the government took so long to file its case against Samatua Logoai, who is facing one count of unlawful possession of methamphetamine — a felony.

Samoa News understands that police were trying to use Logoai as an informant for future drug cases; however, they never heard from him after he was released following the July incident.

Logoai made his initial appearance in District Court this week. Prosecuting the case is Assistant Attorney Jason Mitchell, while Assistant Public Defender Bob Stuart is representing Logoai.

Bail is set at $5,000 and the preliminary hearing (PX) is set for next week.

THE AFFIDAVIT

On July 12, 2019 cops entered the Siaumau family compound in Petesa to execute a search warrant for Thomas Siaumau, and an arrest warrant for Thomas’s brother, Elliott Siaumau.

When they pulled up, cops observed four men standing in a corner behind the Siaumau mechanic shop. They were: Samatua Logoai; Elliott Siaumau Jr; Eddieboy Va’avale; and Toenuti Oloaga.

The group looked like they were in the middle of a meeting that was interrupted — as they attempted to hide themselves from law enforcement.

Cops stormed to the area and instructed the men to be still and place their hands above their heads. According to the government, all four men seemed nervous, especially Elliott and Va’avale.

While frisking Va’avale, cops noticed him attempting to push a black bag underneath a small table near the center of the group. The bag was confiscated by police and in it, were baggies — both medium sized and stamp sized — along with 2 medium sized clear baggies containing a clear crystalline substance appearing to be meth. During a body search, cops found $360 cash on Elliot.

All four men were escorted to the Tafuna Substation for further questioning.

A black truck that was at the Siaumau compound that day was later identified as Logoai’s. The vehicle was driven by Logoai — accompanied by former Det. Justin Thomsen — to the Tafuna Substation.

At the station, Thomsen asked Logoai if there was anything illegal in the car. Logoai grabbed something from the side door and gave it to Thomsen, who gave it to his superior.

It was two ‘simoi’-size baggies containing a clear crystalline substance appearing to be methamphetamine. Both baggies were tested and the contents yielded positive results for meth.

When questioned by police, Logoai explained why he was at the Siaumau compound on the day in question. He allegedly told police that he got the drugs from Elliott as a down payment for a vehicle they had towed earlier that week.

According to Logoai’s statement to police, Siaumau Jr told him the day before the search (July 11th) that each bag was worth $200.

Siaumau Jr and Va’avale were the first two men from the group who were charged.

However, the case against Va’avale was dismissed during his second pretrial conference in High Court last month. It was the prosecutor who told the court that the drugs allegedly discovered at the Siaumau family compound did not belong to Va’avale — he was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Chief Justice Michael Kruse granted the government’s motion to dismiss the case against Va’avale. Meanwhile, the case against Siaumau Jr is still pending in High Court.