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Drug case against Asian woman dismissed with out prejudice

Wen Ting Chen
Govt anticipates refiling the case in District Court
ausage@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The government’s case against an Asian woman accused of allegedly bringing an illegal substance, to wit, Phencyclidine (PCP) into the territory was dismissed without prejudice in High Court yesterday morning.

Thomas Jones, of RDA Law Firm represented Wen Ting Chen, while Assistant Attorney General Christy Dunn prosecuted.

When the case was called, Dunn moved to dismiss the case against Chen. However, she added, they will re-file the case in District Court at a later date, when the government has the necessary information to prove its case.

Jones did not oppose the motion to dismiss but he did ask to dismiss it with prejudice. He told the court that his client has been dealing with this case for almost 2 years and it's very hard for her to move forward with her life with this case still hanging over her.

According to Jones, the information he received from the government in the beginning of this year, based on a report from the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) representative, who tested the illegal drugs, the pills allegedly discovered inside Chen's luggage did not contain PCP ingredients.

Jones argued that his client is entitled to a speedy trial, and after nearly 2 years since the case was filed, the government still has not been able to provide any solid discovery.

After reviewing arguments from both sides, Chief Justice Michael Kruse granted the government’s motion and dismissed the case without prejudice.

According to the government’s case, police received a call from the Customs K9 Unit at the airport on July 10, 2017 requesting assistance on a matter involving illegal substances.

It was a K9 Customs dog that alerted to Chen during a routine check of arriving passengers. Chen was pulled to the side and a search uncovered 2 pill bottles concealed under a pair of underwear.

Each bottle was labeled “USA Purchasing” on the side, but there was no patient name or the name of the doctor who issued the prescription.

When interviewed by Det. John Seumanutafa, Chen said the pills were for weight loss, and she purchased them online for personal use.

Using her phone, Chen showed the investigating officer the name of the website she bought the pills from, but the officer was unable to understand any of the information, because it was all in the Chinese language.