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Man arrested after allegedly attacking woman for scolding kids

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ausage@samoanews.com
The suspect was standing over the victim choking her, asking her if she knew who he was and asking her who did she think she was.

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A 36-year-old man was arrested last Friday for allegedly assaulting a female by pushing her down and choking her.

Leaia Mose spent three nights at the Territorial Correctional Facility (TCF) before he made his initial appearance in District Court this past Monday. He is represented by Public Defender Michael White while prosecuting the case is Assistant Attorney General Robert Morrison III.

Mose is charged with one count of private peace disturbance and one count of 3rd degree assault, both class A misdemeanors, punishable by a imprisonment of up to one year, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.

Bail was set at $300, however during his initial appearance, the court decided to release Mose on his own recognizance subject to several conditions such as being law abiding, no direct or indirect contact with the victim.  And he must make all of his court appearances and stay in close contact with his attorney.

Pretrial conference is June 10th at 8:30a.m.

The government alleges that that on Apr. 30th, 2021 at approximately 8:46a.m, the Fagatogo Central Police Station received a phone call from the mayor of Aua requesting police assistance regarding an incident where a man allegedly assaulted a woman. Several police officers responded to the call and met up with the reporter in this case.

Officers were briefed by the reporter regarding the incident, however, the suspect who was later identified as Leaia Mose had left the scene requiring police to locate the suspect — he was at his house.

Officers interviewed the reporter and the victim regarding the incident. According to the victim’s statement to officers, while she was cutting grass, picking up trash and cleaning their guest fales on the sami-side in Aua, she saw two kids at the guest fales and one was lying on the table. She approached them and scolded them and told them to go home. Minutes later, Mose drove by and picked up the kids and left.

However, the suspect’s vehicle turned back and he parked his vehicle and approached the victim, confronting her about scolding the kids who stay with him, telling her she had no right to scold them.

An argument started between the suspect and the victim and the suspect told the victim that if she wasn’t a female, he would beat her. The victim replied saying come and do it. They then got into a scuffle, and the victim pulled the suspect’s shirt and the suspect allegedly pushed the victim and she fell on the chair. The suspect was standing over the victim choking her, asking her if she knew who he was and asking her who did she think she was.

The victim grabbed the suspect’s t-shirt trying to get free from him. The kids who were with the suspect jumped in and pulled the suspect away and they left the scene. That’s when the victim informed the village mayor about the incident and the mayor called the Fagatogo Central Police Station for assistance.