Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man accused of assaulting his wife while their two young daughters were in the vehicle with her and later damaged his family property was arrested pursuant to an arrest warrant of the court. During his arrest, officers found illegal drugs inside his wallet.

The defendant, Henry Talosaga made his initial appearance in Court last month.

He is charged with one count of unlawful possession of meth, an unclassified felony; one count of felonious restraint, one count of 1st- degree property damage and 2nd- degree assault; all class D felonies, punishable by a term of imprisonment of not more than 5 years, a fine of up to $5,000 ,or both, along with one count of endangering the welfare of a child and 2nd- degree property damage, both class A misdemeanors.

Bail is set at $25,000.

THE CASE

On May 01, 2022, a male contacted the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) requesting immediate assistance regarding a man who was disturbing the peace at their residence in the Tafuna area by shattering the front sliding door window and garage windows with a metal instrument.

He was later identified as Henry Talosaga, the defendant in this matter.

Responding police officers observed the front sliding door glass shattered as well as a window in the garage. A female was also seen at the scene, who was later identified as the defendant’s sister.

Several attempts were made by officers to speak to the defendant’s sister but she refused to cooperate and she walked away from officers and headed straight inside her house.

As officers were about to leave the scene, the TPS dispatcher informed officers that the victim and her two daughters had walked into the TPS to report that she was allegedly assaulted by her husband in front of the husband’s residence in the Tafuna area.

The victim and her two daughters were interviewed by investigators regarding the alleged matter

According to the victim’s statement, she went to her husband’s home in Tafuna to pick up her two daughters. The victim told investigators that two months prior she had left her husband.

On Friday, her two daughters wanted to visit their father and the victim agreed. On Sunday night, May 1 around 8 p.m, the victim told investigators that her 9-year-old daughter called her and said that she and her sister wanted to come home. The victim then drove to her husband’s residence to pick up her two daughters.

When she arrived at her husband’s home in the Tafuna area, her two daughters were outside the house waiting for her. As soon she parked in front of her husband’s house, her two daughters jumped in the vehicle and told her to wait for Talosaga because he wanted to speak with her before they went home. This led to a verbal altercation between her and Talosaga, as she sat in her vehicle, after she told him she had had enough with him.

The defendant then, using both his hands to shove the victim, picked up a rock and attempted to assault the victim with it while his two daughters were sitting in the back seat crying.

The victim was able to evade the assault however the defendant ran towards the passenger side door that was unlocked and grabbed the victim by her hair dragging her from the driver’s side towards the passenger seat and then assaulted her with a closed fist — striking her facial area, back area and her upper body about ten times.

The victim said as the assault took place her two daughters were calling out to Talosaga to stop. She told investigators that she had seen with her own eyes that Talosaga had a knife in his possession.

During the alleged assault, the victim told investigators she feared for her safety and the safety of her children.

The victim said that after she was assaulted, Talosaga walked away from her and a female approached her and gave her back the car keys (that had been taken by Talosaga during his attempt to assault her with a rock), and told her to take the kids home and go.

She drove off with her two daughters and went to her parents for help.

EMS paramedics arrived at her parent’s house and treated the victim for minor injuries she sustained from the alleged assault. The victim refused to go to LBJ Hospital for further medical treatment.

One hour later on the same date, May 1 around 9:40p.m, a female contacted the TPS for assistance saying that her boyfriend had assaulted her outside of his house.

Police arrived at the scene and met up with the woman who called for police help. While officers were speaking with the woman who reported the matter, a male approached officers and asked for the reason why they came on to his land. The male was later identified as Henry Talosaga, the defendant in this matter.

According to the caller she was asleep when she heard a loud bang coming from within the house and when she got up to see what it was, her boyfriend, Talosaga started yelling profanities and then threatened her stating that he was going to beat her if she didn’t leave his house, and Talosaga started striking her bedroom door with a metal pipe trying to make his way inside the bedroom.

As the caller tried to make her way out of the room, Talosaga walked over and pushed her to the wall, slapped her in the face three times and pulled her hair. Talosaga also dragged her back inside the room to stop her from leaving the house. However, the caller was able to make her way out of the house and ran to the house next door for help. That’s when she called the TPS for help.

The next morning, May 2, investigators proceeded to Talosaga’s residence in Tafuna to locate the defendant but were unsuccessful. They also proceeded to the defendant’s brother’s residence in Kokoland in an effort to locate him but he was not at the house.

Two days later on May 4, Talosaga was apprehended and taken into custody.

Before he was taken in custody, he was patted down for weapons and contraband. During a body search, officers discovered two stamp-sized baggies containing a white crystalline substance inside his wallet.

The white crystalline substance later tested positive for meth.

Talosaga was Mirandized and decided to remain silent and not to make a statement.