Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On June 2, 2024, a male individual contacted the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) claiming that two individuals were fighting at a store in Se’etaga.

A suspect was apprehended and later charged with Count 1: Public Peace Disturbance — a class B misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for six months, a fine of $500, or both.

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

According to the affidavit, on June 2, at about 4:43 p.m, a male individual called the TPS to report two individuals were fighting in the Alataua Mart in the village of Se’etaga, allegedly alarming the owners of the store.

Police officers responded to the call and upon arrival at the Se’etaga village, they contacted the male individual who reported the crime and spoke with him.

According to the reporter, he was not at the scene but was told by one of his friends who owns the Alataua Mart store that two people fought inside his store. He later explained that the names of the individuals who fought in the store were Sipaia and Gafatasi, who reside not far from the store.

When asked by the officer in which store the incident occurred, the reporter stated that Se’etaga has only one store in the village.

Upon arrival at the scene/ store, the officers met with the owner of the store who was later identified as a witness to what happened. The owner was interviewed and said a man came in and stood inside the store and was talking to someone who was outside the store.

The owner/ witness stated that he was shocked when the other man came into the store and tried to strangle the big guy with his hands and started to punch and shake him while yanking the collar of his shirt. He told them to leave his store since his food items fell from the shelf.

And, after the individuals left the store, he called the reporter and told him about what had happened.

The owner also stated that his security camera had footage of what happened.

Upon reviewing the video footage, the officer observed a heavy -set individual wearing a t-shirt saying something to someone, who was outside the store.

The footage revealed a man walking into the store wearing a dark colored shirt and grab the man in red then try and strangle him with both his hands. The man in the dark shirt continued to punch the guy in the red shirt and pulled him back and forth before pushing him away and then leaving the store.

The footage was uploaded onto the officer’s phone.

When the officer asked one of the customers who was shopping at the store, if he could identify the individuals in the video he said “yes”. When asked if he could ID each person, the customer stated that the guy in the red shirt is Sipaia Vivi (later identified as the victim) and the one wearing the dark color shirt is Gafatasi Taveuveu (later identified as the suspect) and they live not far from the store.

Upon arrival at the suspect’s residence, police officers announced themselves as officers. As one of the officers walked to the back of the house, he met a kid who was standing outside. When the officer asked if he knew the suspect, the kid replied “yes, that’s my dad”. When the officer asked him if his dad was there, the kid replied “yes” and told the officer to follow him into the house. As the officer entered the house, he saw a male individual in the kitchen. When asked if he was Gafatasi, the man replied “yes” and he was quickly apprehended at his home.

As the officer escorted the suspect to the police unit, a strong odor of alcohol emitted from his breath.

The officers then proceeded to the victim’s home to do a follow up investigation. Upon arrival at the victim’s residence, one of the officers met with the victim and interviewed him at his home.

According to the victim, he was shocked when the suspect came into the store and strangled him and punched his face and also pushed him around.

He stated that the reason why the suspect assaulted him was because he was jealous when he spoke to the suspect’s wife while they were waiting at the bus stop near the Alamai Gas Station in Leone. The victim said that it made the suspect jealous and made him aggressive towards him when they got back to the store in Se’etaga.

After interviewing the victim, the officers left his home and made their way to the TPS to process the suspect.

Upon arrival at the station, the suspect was Mirandized and he agreed to make a statement and answer questions.

According to the suspect, he admitted to strangling the victim, punching him in the face and yanking him back and forth before pushing him away and leaving the store. The suspect stated the reason behind his actions was because he saw the victim talking to his wife, which made him think the victim was up to something.

When the officers showed him the video footage from the store and asked if he knew the person in the red shirt, the suspect replied “yes, that’s Siapaia”. When asked who the person in the dark color shirt in the footage was, the suspect admitted that it was him assaulting the victim.

The suspect was booked at the TPS and later transported to the Tafuna Correctional Facility to be confined until the next available sitting of the District Court.

The suspect is identified as a 35 year-old U.S National.