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Man charged with assault after dispute over blocked driveway

American Samoa District Court building
ausage@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man was arrested and charged in connection with an incident where he allegedly assaulted a 62-year-old man in Kokoland last month.

The defendant, Joseph Olotele made his initial appearances in District Court last month.

He is charged with one count of unlawful possession of marijuana, a felony, along with one count of abuse of an elderly person or disabled adult, a class C felony punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to seven years, a fine of up to $5,000, or both, along with 3rd-degree assault, trespass, PPD and 3rd-degree property damage, all misdemeanors.

Bail is set at $15,000.

THE CASE

Investigation disclosed that on Mar. 30 around 7p.m, a 62-year-old man (who was later identified as the victim in this case) contacted the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) for help after he was allegedly assaulted by a man who lives with his neighbor.

The victim was at his residence in Kokoland when the suspect approached his home and confronted him on some problems they had regarding the land and the road to his house.

The victim asked the suspect to leave his land, however, the suspect refused and told the victim to put down the metal pipe he was holding. The frightened victim had grabbed a metal pipe and had asked the suspect to leave his land or he would strike his head with the metal pipe.

The suspect then grabbed rocks from the ground and threw the rocks at the victim and hitting him multiple times with the victim sustaining injuries on his face, the side of his head and bruises on his chest area.

The suspect then grabbed the victim and threw him to the ground. The victim was later transported to the LBJ Hospital to be treated.

The suspect then walked over to the area where the victim was lying, grabbed his cell phone and threw it on the cement floor. Before the suspect left he told the victim that if he called police, he would come back to his house and kill him.

Police responded to the call and discovered the victim sitting in front of his house with his face covered with blood. EMS was immediately contacted and the victim was transported to the LBJ Tropical Medical Hospital for treatment.

Police approached the suspect at his house and informed him about the matter at hand. During their conversation with the suspect, officers smelled a strong odor of alcohol coming from the suspect’s breathe and clothing.

Before the suspect was taken to the TPS, he was patted down for weapons or contraband. During a body search, officers discovered a small stamp sized baggie containing green leafy substance inside his pocket, which later tested positive for THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.

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

According to Olotele’s statement to investigators, it was the victim who started the fight after he used rocks to block the road to their house.

Two weeks before the incident, Olotele went to the victim’s house and peacefully talked to him about the road and the land, but the victim instructed him not to interfere with the matter between him (victim) and the couple who own the house where the defendant lives.

On the morning of the alleged incident, the victim did it again. He used rocks to block the road to the defendant’s house. The defendant stated he was angry and went to approach the victim about what he did, however, when he went to the house, the victim grabbed a metal pipe and attempted to attack him. He then assaulted him and damaged his cell phone.

When questioned about the illegal drugs discovered in his possession, the defendant admits that marijuana found inside his pocket belonged to him.