Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On March 21, 2024, a young woman contacted the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) to report that her boyfriend allegedly assaulted her at her workplace.

Jarius Fiso was arrested and later charged with the following:

Count 1: Assault in the Third Degree (DV) — a class A misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to one (1) year but not less than $150, or both; and,

Count 2: Public Peace Disturbance (DV) — a class A misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to one (1) year but not less than $150, or both.

The defendant’s bail was set at $1,000.

According to the affidavit, on March 21, at about 10:12 am, Hilda Luki contacted the TPS regarding her boyfriend who allegedly assaulted her in her workplace at the Department of Health (DOH) in Tafuna.

When officers arrived at about 10:25 am, they met with the reporter/victim Ms Luki where she briefed the officers on what happened. Officers also spoke with witnesses and retrieved videos of the incident.

The victim was later assisted by an officer to the TPS for further investigation.

Police officers then proceeded to the defendant’s residence in Nu’uuli to locate him. Upon arrival at about 10:47 am, officers met with Jarius Fiso at his residence in Nu’uuli where he was informed about the incident and was immediately apprehended at the time.

Mr. Fiso was then transported to the TPS for further investigation.

According to the victim’s verbal and written statement, on March 21, in the morning, she stopped by the American Samoa Telecommunication Authority (ASTCA) headquarters in Tafuna to retrieve her phone from her boyfriend and she then returned to her workplace at the DOH office in Tafuna.

The victim further explained that not too long after she arrived at her workplace, her boyfriend (defendant) showed up and started a verbal altercation over her phone that she had retrieved at ASTCA.

According to the affidavit, Fiso tried his best to take away the phone from her by reaching over for the phone while it was still in her hand.

She stated that she tried to push his hands away but he kept holding her arms and squeezed them for the purpose of getting the phone away from her.

A scuffle ensued with her boyfriend inside the DOH office, moving towards the outside.

The defendant used “his power to take the phone away” from her by pulling it out of her hand. The defendant then allegedly punched her and hit her shoulder.

Luckily, the victim’s co-workers jumped in and helped the victim from being assaulted by Fiso.

Luke further stated that she bought the phone at BlueSky but gave it to the defendant to use because he didn’t have a phone.

The victim sustained minor scratches on her left elbow and refused to be treated by the EMS.

The first witness’s verbal and written statement taken by police confirmed Fiso's actions at the office, saying the defendant came into the office and walked straight to the victim and kept asking about the phone and started to get aggressive by being loud and noisy towards Luki.

One of their co-workers warned the defendant to go outside because he was being very disrespectful inside their workplace but he refused to listen and it got worse — resulting in them scuffling towards the outside because the defendant wanted to get the phone back.

The witness stated that the defendant ended up punching the victim but luckily one of the co-workers jumped in and stopped him.

Another witness was also interviewed and according to the second witness’s verbal and written statement, she confirmed Fiso walking into their office in Tafuna and straight to where the victim was.

She heard the defendant telling the victim to give him the phone, however the victim replied “it was her phone that she bought from BlueSky last month.”

She said, the defendant then reached over to the other side of the victim’s desk and tried to get the phone but the victim grabbed the phone and pushed the defendant away from getting it.

The witness said that they started scuffling and arguing inside the office towards the outside. The defendant then allegedly punched the victim and pushed her so he could run away, because one of the co-workers jumped in and helped Hilda.

The defendant was Mirandized and refused to make a statement.

He was later booked and confined at the Tafuna Correctional Facility to await the next available sitting of the District Court.

The defendant is identified as a 25-year-old U.S National.