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Man arrested for assaulting wife — alcohol and drugs allegedly involved

American Samoa District Court building
ausage@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A 43-year old man who is accused of assaulting his wife at their home in Ottoville while he was heavily intoxicated told police that the reason he did this was because he wanted to discipline his wife for disrespecting him in front of her family and their friends.

When he was apprehended, police allegedly discovered illegal drugs in his possession.

The defendant spent two nights at the Territorial Correctional Facility (TCF) before making his initial appearance in District Court last week.

He is charged with one count of unlawful possession of methamphetamine and one count of unlawful possession of marijuana, both unclassified felonies; along with the two misdemeanor charges of 3rd degree assault and public peace disturbance.

Bail is set at $10,000.

If he posts bond, defendant is ordered to find another place to stay, and refrain from trying to make any more contact with his wife.

The case was reported to police by the victim’s brother, who noticed bruises on his sister’s face early Saturday morning, Oct 24th, 2020. Asking his sister what happened, the victim replied that her husband beat her up the night before while he was intoxicated, but she didn’t want to report the matter to police because she was at fault, and that she didn’t want her husband to be locked up in jail because he’s the only one who is providing food and everything for her and their five young children.

The victim’s brother did not accept his sister’s explanation and contacted the Tafuna Police Substation and reported the matter.

When questioned by police officers, the victim stated that she’s not blaming her husband for what he did to her because, she started the argument because she was disappointed when her husband used money from their children’s savings to buy beer with his friend.

However, she later figured out that her husband and his friend, who worked to fix their house the whole week, deserved a break and something to drink.

During the interview with police, the victim revealed her husband’s secret and informed police that her husband is doing drugs and it’s been three months since she first witnessed changes in her husband’s attitude.

The government claims the alleged incident happened on Saturday night when the defendant heard his wife calling out his friend’s name telling him to find another place to drink beer. The defendant confronted his wife and asked her why she treated his friend in such a rude manner. The wife fired back in a high tone and questioned her husband about why he used money from their children’s savings to buy beer.

The defendant then left the house with his friend and returned home four hours later very intoxicated and while his wife and children were asleep, the defendant allegedly assaulted his wife by pulling her hair and punching her face multiple times before dragging her into the living room.

The defendant also threatened to kill the victim if she called police or told anyone in her family about what happened.

The defendant was apprehended by police on the same night at his sister’s house in Nu’uuli and was later transported to the TPS for an interview.

Before he was transported to the TPS, a body search was conducted by police, who allegedly discovered a small baggie containing green leafy substance inside the defendant’s right pocket.

Police also searched his wallet and found a small baggie containing white crystalline substance.

When questioned by police, the defendant admitted to the allegation and immediately apologized for his action. He told police that this is not the first time his wife done something like this to him in front of his friends.

When asked about the illegal drugs found in his possession, defendant told police that his friend gave him drugs during their drinking session. He further stated to police that he had the illegal drugs on him during the time he assaulted his wife but he forgot to get rid of it before police arrived.