Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A 42-year-old man accused of assaulting another man in Petesa by striking the victim’s head with a 2x4 board his initial appearance in District Court last week.

Alfred Unasa is charged with one count of second-degree assault, a class D felony, carrying a prison sentence of up to 5 years, a fine of up to $5,000 or both.

Bond is set at $10,000.

The defense attorney asked the court to reduce his client’s bond to $5,000, arguing that Unasa is not a flight risk and has no criminal record. The prosecutor opposed the motion, saying Unasa is a citizen of Samoa who has no strong ties to the community. The court agreed and denied the motion.

Unasa waived his right to a preliminary hearing and his case is bound over to High Court where he appeared in High Court last week for arraignment.

THE CASE

Around 11:00p.m on Feb. 12, 2021, a man called the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) to report that they were transporting a male who was assaulted in Petesa to the LBJ. According to the government, the victim was a 39-year-old married man and father of 4 from Iliili.

The government claims that the main witness — a male — and several family members were engaged in a drinking session at a home in Tafuna the day before. Later in the evening, another family member stopped by, together with Unasa.

Everything was okay until close to midnight, when the homeowner got into a verbal argument with the victim, after the victim allegedly accused the homeowner of hiding beer in his vehicle.

As a joke, the homeowner told the victim that is was Unasa who stole the beer and hid it in the backpack he was carrying that night. That’s when Unasa allegedly exited the house and walked out to where other family members were.

The witness told police that’s when Unasa re-entered the home, and he saw him holding a piece of wood about 5 feet long, which he used to strike the victim on the back, before hitting him on the head. The victim was transported to the hospital.

Unasa was apprehended at his friend’s home in Iliili and transported to the TPS for questioning.

Unasa confirmed to investigators that his friend had invited him to a party in Petesa in the Tafuna area, and confirmed what had happened, including his feeling of shame when the victim made fun of him, and his hitting the victim with a piece of wood.

At that time, Unasa said, the victim was groaning, blood was dripping from his head because of a laceration on the top part of his skull. While Unasa was making his way out, a male relative of the victim punched Unasa in the face.