Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man arrested last month on the allegation that he assaulted his girlfriend and threatened to kill her and her family if she reported the incident to authorities has denied all accusations.

During his arrest, cops discovered a hand rolled marijuana cigarette inside the defendant’s wallet.

Tavita Anesi made his initial appearance in court last month.

Anesi is charged with one count of unlawful possession of marijuana, an unclassified felony, one count of false imprisonment, a class D felony, along with public peace disturbance, a misdemeanor. Bail is set at $6,000 and his preliminary hearing (PX) is scheduled for next week.

THE AFFIDAVIT

The government claims that on the afternoon of Sept. 13, 2022, the victim and her male cousin walked into Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) to file a complaint against Anesi for assault.

During the interview the victim was whispering and appeared incapable of speaking loudly. Investigators say they noticed she was having trouble turning her head sideways when she was asked to speak up.

Scratch marks were observed on the victim’s right shoulder and her back was dirty, as if she’d been lying in dirt.

The victim told investigators that her back and shirt got dirty after Anesi dragged her into an old abandoned house to prevent her from being seen and she was helped by her male cousin, who came to her aid after she called him for help.

The victim said she was dragged into the house, where Anesi then threw her on the floor and positioned himself on top of her while covering her mouth with his left hand and holding her down with his right hand.

The victim said Anesi was trying to hold her down so her male cousin wouldn’t be able to see them. During the interview, police noticed swelling on the victim’s left ear, which she said was where Anesi slapped her.

According to the victim, she’d been staying at Anesi house for 8 months. She moved in around mid February of this year and the abuse started a month later — in the last week of the same month.

She said Anesi would hold her down aggressively and leave bruises on her body; and whenever she attempted to leave, Anesi would threaten to kill her and her family. She said she tried to defend herself by punching him and telling him to go away but he would choke her, pull her hair, slap her, and verbally abuse her.

Last month, the victim said Anesi tried to choke her and although his brother stopped him, Anesi did it anyway, twice. The victim said she had enough and wanted to go home, so she tried to call her male cousin using her phone inside the bathroom while Anesi was gone. Afterwards, she went in front of the house to wait for him; and that’s when she saw Anesi running towards her, while a car was following him.

Anesi then dragged her inside the nearby abandoned house, held her down, covered her mouth, and instructed her not to yell or cry or he’ld keep beating her, and if her cousin doesn’t leave, he will beat and kill him too.

The victim said when her male cousin finally found them, Anesi took off and threatened to kill her family.

Police spoke to the victim’s male cousin who said that when he received the phone call from the victim, he heard her crying as she asked to be picked up from Petesa.

On his way there — with another relative in the car — he called the victim and noticed a guy wearing a blue lavalava sitting on a rock wall next to the road. He said when he asked the victim about this guy, she said that’s Anesi.

Anesi was arrested and transported to the TPS for questioning. He was patted down for weapon and contraband before he was taken to the TPS. During a body search, cops discovered a hand rolled marijuana joint inside Anesi’s wallet.

When asked by police, Anesi denied the allegation that he threatened to kill the victim and her family. He also denied assaulting the victim, saying it was the victim who assaulted him and threaten to kill him and his mother.

According to Anesi, in the 8 mouths they have been living together, he and the victim have had loud arguments. He said it got physical and the victim would tell him that she wanted to die and then attempted to kill herself.

He told police he held her down to prevent her from doing so; and this happened many times, and all he does is hold her down, nothing more.

According to Anesi, he and the victim do everything together; and one time at his workplace, she slapped, punched, and elbowed him to the point where he bled and had a swollen eye. She also choked him until he was unconscious.

Anesi claims the victim molested him and he only choked her one time when she tried to kill him. As for him preventing her from going home, Anesi said he never did such a thing.

Anesi’s brother told police that Anesi told him and their father that the victim needed a place to stay because her stepmom kicked her out, as she didn’t like the idea of her dating Samoan men.

Anesi’s brother said he can’t recall when it started, but the couple would argue most nights. He said he told his brother that he’s not to lay a hand on the victim, and every time the two would argue in his presence, he would remind his brother about the rule.

He said every time he stepped in, Anesi always assured him that he wasn’t hitting her. According to Anesi’s brother, he could remember four times seeing Anesi with some sort of bruise or redness like hand marks on his arm. He told police that the victim is capable of hurting Anesi.

When questioned about the hand rolled marijuana joint found inside his wallet, Anesi said he did not know anything about the marijuana joint. He told investigators he didn’t smoke marijuana and he had no idea how the joint got inside his wallet.