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Man charged with property damage and assault after confrontation with his sister's boyfriend

American Samoa District Court building
ausage@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A 45-year-old man accused of assaulting his sister's boyfriend was arrested by police last month, where he made his initial appearance in District Court.

Salesa Vaega is charged with 2nd degree assault and 1st degree property damage, both class D felony, punishable by imprisonment of up to 5 years, a fine of up to $5,000 or both; and 2 misdemeanor charged of third degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child, both class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year imprisonment, a fine of up to $1,000 or both.

The court established Vaega’s bond in the amount of $10,000.

If he posts bond, the court ordered the usual restrictions, including staying in close contact with his defense attorney.

The defense attorney asked the court to reduce his client’s bond, however, his request was denied by the court.

THE CASE

The government claims that it was Aug. 13 around 7:33p.m when the TPS received a phone call from a woman asking for assistance for her boyfriend, who was being assaulted by her older brother. Her older brother was later identified as Salesa Vaega, the defendant in this matter.

Several police officers responded to the call in the Tafuna area, and were able to speak to the woman who contacted the police for assistance.

According to the woman, she was at work when she received a call from her boyfriend, saying that her brother (defendant) struck his head with a metal pipe. The defendant also used the same metal pipe to damage his vehicle.

The victim was transported to the LBJ hospital for treatment where 6 stitches were needed to close the cut on the left side of his head.

Police spoke to the victim at the hospital on Saturday morning. According to the victim, Vaega who is his girlfriend’s brother confronted him and asked him about his relationship with his girlfriend (defendant’s sister).

According to the victim, Vaega was very disappointed with the way he responded to his question.

However, according to the victim, his girlfriend informed Vaega two months ago about their relationship.

The victim told police that it was in the middle of their conservation when Vaega allegedly punched him in the face, causing him to fall down in front of his doorstep.

While he was on the ground, Vaega grabbed a metal pipe that was lying in front of the house and struck his head.

Vaega then walked over to the other side of the house where his vehicle was parked and started damaging all the glass on his vehicle, including the windshield and doors.

The victim told police that after Vaega assaulted him and damaged his vehicle, his 16-year-old nephew went over and asked Vaega why he did this to his uncle. Vaega turned around and slapped his nephew and told him not to interfere with things that he does not understand.

Police were unable to locate the defendant at the scene, however on Sunday afternoon, two weeks after the alleged incident, police arrested  him from his friend’s house in Petesa.

When questioned by police, Vaega admitted striking his sister’s boyfriend with a metal pipe causing injury to his head. He also admits that he damaged the victim’s vehicle and also assaulted his 16-year-old nephew by slapping his face.

Preliminary hearing for Vaega is now scheduled for next week.