Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — One of the co-defendants in a 2021 case, where the windshield of a vehicle was damaged as well as a window of a restaurant in the Tafuna area is now in custody after being arrested last month.

Uale Falefata made his initial appearance in Court last month

He is charged with one count of 1st-degree property damage, a class D felony, along with public peace disturbance, a misdemeanor.

Bail is set at $5,000.

The government alleges that on Nov. 26, 2021 at approximately 2:40a.m a fight broke out in a restaurant’s parking lot in the Tafuna area. The fight moved to Petesa and then back to restaurant parking lot.

Three suspects were alleged to be involved in the fight. There were Niusila Toma, Fale Uati and Uale Falefata.

Toma and Uati have already been charged in this matter and their cases are pending in court.

Defendant, Falefata was on the loose, but is now in custody after being arrested last month.

The victim and her boyfriend and some of their friends were at a restaurant eating when the fight broke out. They tried to stop the fight but they couldn’t.

When someone mentioned that the police were coming, the suspects immediately left the restaurant. On his way out of the restaurant, co-defendant Toma punched the window of the restaurant, damaging it.

Once in the parking lot, one of the co-defendants, Uati jumped on the hood of the victim’s truck and kicked the windshield, damaging it.

Defendant Uale Falefata is alleged to have punched the passenger side window of the victim’s truck, damaging it. Multiple people on the scene witnessed the damage to the truck, including the victim.

The defendant then smashed the restaurant’s glass door with a rock.

Toma and Uale were arrested and provided their statements to police regarding the alleged incident. In his statement, Toma admitted to stomping on the front windshield of the truck. Uati in his statement admitted being involved in the fight and punching the restaurant’s window.

Falefata was not questioned because he was nowhere to be found.

The victim received two estimates for repairs to the damage to his truck — which ranged from $1,295- $2,628 — the damage included a shattered front windshield, a shattered passenger window and a dented passenger door.