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Judge Sunia warns man who was mad because meal was not on the table

District Court Judge Fiti Sunia
blue@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — "I guarantee you this: If you ever come back here (in court), you will have to find somewhere else to live or otherwise, you'll go to the TCF."

This was the warning from District Court Judge Fiti Sunia this past Monday, Christmas Eve, to Ioane Setefano, 41, who is being charged with public peace disturbance, private peace disturbance, and third degree assault.

"We're getting into that time of year when you tell people not to drink, and they still drink," Judge Sunia continued.

Setefano was released on his own recognizance and his matter has been transferred to the Family, Drug, and Alcohol (FDA) court. His pretrial conference is set for January 28, 2019.

Setefano is ordered to maintain peace in his home — with his wife — and he is subjected to all standard conditions of release.

The charges against Setefano stem from an incident that occurred during the early morning hours of December 23 in Pago Pago.

Police were notified of a drunk man making loud and unreasonable noises.

When cops arrived at the scene, they overheard Setefano yelling at his wife to take him back to Apia (Samoa).

Samoa News understands that Setefano's wife told police that her husband went with friends to a party and later came home drunk.

Things got ugly when Setefano walked into the kitchen and noticed that there was no food on the table for him. That's when he allegedly started making noise, yelling profanities at his wife and their children.

According to the criminal complaint, Setefano's wife told police that when she and her oldest daughter were preparing food for her husband, Setefano approached them in a threatening manner — yelling and using abusive language, which alarmed the family that rents next door.

Police were told that Setefano was very intoxicated and he assaulted his wife by hitting her with both hands, multiple times in the facial area. Medical assistance was offered but the woman refused.

Setefano was taken into custody for questioning. Cops say he reeked of alcohol, his speech was slurred, and his eyes were blood shot red.

When confronted by police, Setefano allegedly admitted that he had been drinking at his friend's party in Tafuna, and he became upset when he came home and there was no food.