Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On February 24, 2025, Tafuna Police Substation received a call from an individual reporting an alleged assault.

The suspect was later apprehended and charged with:

Count 1: Assault in the Third Degree (DV), a class D felony punishable by a term of imprisonment not to exceed five years, a fine of not more than $5,000 but not less than $150, or both imprisonment and fine; and,

Count 2: Private Peace Disturbance (DV), a class C misdemeanor by a term of imprisonment not to exceed fifteen days, a fine of not more than $300.00 but not less than $150.00, or imprisonment and fine.

The defendant’s bail was set at $10,000.

According to the court affidavit, on Feb. 24th, at about 3:00 p.m., an individual reported an alleged assault by Fa’afetai Tali (later identified as the suspect).

Police officers responded to the call and upon arrival, they were waved down by an individual who pointed out where the victim was. As the officers approached the victim, they observed that her shirt was covered in blood stains and blood was dripping from her head.

The victim was asked about what happened and she stated that she was doing chores at their house with her kids — cleaning the yard and trash caused by the strong and heavy winds a few nights ago — when she heard her brother in-law (suspect) instructing her kids to fill the potholes with soil. However, she disagreed and told her kids not to fill the potholes due to the heavy rains that would eventually wash away the gravel again.

As a result, the suspect got furious and he grabbed a single metal crutch from a pair of medical crutches and he hit her multiple times on her left arm and then hit her head hard causing blood to start running down her face. She then ran to her sister-in-law’s house for help.

The victim was asked about the suspect’s whereabouts to which she pointed to the house where he had gone. Police officers proceeded to the residence and apprehended the suspect. He was transported to the TPS for further investigation.

Upon arrival at the TPS, EMS was contacted to tend to the victim’s injuries. The victim was later transported to the hospital. Medical reports revealed that the victim sustained a laceration above her forehead — about two inches long — and required stitches. The victim also sustained about four long bruises on her left forearm.

The suspect was Mirandized to which he understood and agreed to make a statement.

According to the suspect, the victim’s children were very disobedient towards him and weren’t following instructions. He stated that he told the victim's children to fill the potholes on the driveway because he was concerned that a car might breakdown due to the big potholes. However, the children did not listen to him and used dirt instead of gravel to fill the potholes.

Furthermore, he also heard the victim telling her children not to fill the potholes. He then got furious and started yelling at the children. The suspect admitted that he lashed out on them and started hitting the victim with a single crutch. He said that he didn’t know how bad the victim’s injuries were because he went straight to his room after the incident.

The investigation also noted that the victim and suspect live together in the same house.

The suspect was booked and confined for 48 hours at the Tafuna Correctional Facility to await the next available sitting of the District Court.

The defendant is identified as a 58-year-old U.S National.