Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man accused of burglarizing a home in Kokoland last month has been arrested and is now in custody, with bail set at $15,000.

Uini Saolotoga Jr made his initial appearance in District Court last week. He is represented by Assistant Public Defender Bob Stuart, while prosecuting is Assistant Attorney General Laura Garvey.

He is charged with second degree burglary and stealing, both class C felonies, punishable by up to 7 years in jail, a $5,000 fine or, pursuant to A.S.C.A 46.2101, a fine equal to twice the amount of gain from the commission of said crime, up to a maximum of $20K, or both such fine and imprisonment.

Preliminary examination is this Thursday.

THE CASE

On Nov 11th, a woman called police to report that her Kokoland home had been burglarized. When cops arrived, they observed that several bedrooms had been ransacked and a red safe was found under the porch.

According to the caller, on Nov 10th, her husband asked her to check on their house, to make sure it was secure. The woman said she and her sister went to the house and everything was squared away, they even turned the lights on.

The next morning, Nov. 11th, the woman and her sister returned to the house and noticed that the lights were off and the screen door was locked from the inside. The women inspected the property and noticed the safe under the porch. The house had been ransacked.

Police spoke to an eyewitness who said that on Nov. 10th, at a little past midnight, she observed an unknown male walking around the house carrying a huge green bag. She said she asked the man what he was looking for and he said he was looking for his puppy.

According to the witness, the male walked towards the house and disappeared into the brush. But before he did, she took pictures of him. The man was later identified as Wayne, the defendant, who was connected to a previous burglary and had an arrest warrant in his name.

According to the government, the defendant has a criminal record.

When questioned by police, the homeowner said he packed his bags on the night of Nov. 9th and after placing his bags in the car, he realized he didn’t have his car keys. He said he called his wife and kids to drop off his keys and check on their home while he’s away.

According to the victim, the missing items included: a safe (recovered outside the residence); 3 laptops; 2 iPads; 2 black pearl bracelets; clothes and several pair of shoes; gold jewelry; 2 checkbooks; several electronic tools; Samsung cellphone; sunglasses; 50-inch TV; 2 speakers; gold chain and several other items including $214 cash that was inside the safe.

On the morning of Nov. 11th, a 25-year-old male - a former inmate at the TCF -contacted police and said he knew who burglarized the Kokoland home.

According to him, two men were involved and they gave him a Samsung cellphone, which he turned over to police and later returned to the victim.

The witness told police that while standing in front of a village store on the night of Nov. 10th, Saolotoga Jr asked him and another male who was present, if he could use their car to sell off some items, including a speaker; electronics; tools; clothes; and gold chains.

On Nov. 15th, investigators spoke to a known associate of Saolotoga Jr, and asked him to set up a meeting with him. The man was not to let Saolotoga Jr know that police would show up.

Saolotoga Jr agreed to meet and several cops turned up and apprehended him. Saolotoga Jr was cuffed and placed in the police unit, but he attempted to flee by jumping through the open driver’s side window.

When questioned, Saolotoga Jr told police that he and another male entered the home through the back window. He said he took some items and carried the safe outside but was unsuccessful in breaking it. So they left the safe outside the house.

He said his partner took some items but didn’t know what they were, adding that he returned some stuff to the victim and he was trying to figure out how to return the rest of the stolen items.

When asked if the 25-yr-old witness accompanied him during the burglary, Saolotoga Jr said no. He said the witness was his best friend, and he gave him the Samsung cellphone on the night of the incident.

Before Saolotoga Jr was interviewed, a body search was carried out, whereby police found a glass pipe containing a white crystalline substance which tested positive for meth. When asked about the glass pipe, Saolotoga Jr said it was a gift from one of his friends in Iliili after he gave him several electric tools he stole from the Kokoland home.

According to the victim, a male came by and returned several stolen items to her, saying the items were bought from Saolotoga Jr at an unknown day and time. The man told police that on Nov. 11th, he received a pair of shoes and a laptop from Saolotoga Jr.

The government is yet to file a second case against Saolotoga Jr for the glass pipe containing meth that was allegedly found on him.