Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On January 20, 2025, a man returning to his home after nine months found his place ransacked and damaged, his truck damaged and some of his property from the robbery allegedly sold. He also identified the alleged suspect by name.

The suspect was later identified and charged with:

Count 1: Tampering in the Second Degree, a class A misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to one year, a fine of $1,000, or both; and,

Count 2: Property Damage in the Second Degree, a class A misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to one year, a fine of $1,000, or both.

The defendant’s bail was set at $5,000.

According to the court affidavit, on Jan. 20th, 2025, the victim reported that he found his house had been burglarized and damaged, when he returned from his travels. He further claimed that it had allegedly been done by Andrew Tautua.

According to the victim’s written statements, before he left American Samoa, he left a spare key for his truck under the mattress in his room, and he left the only spare key for his room with one of his friends.

During his trip to Hawai’i, he received a call in September (2024) that Andrew Tautua was driving his car without his permission.

And, upon his return on Jan. 20th, he found that his room had been broken into and a lot of his stuff was missing: His gold watches (Rolex), clothes, tools, tattoo kits, and the room was damaged.

In addition, his truck was damaged:  it had scratches on it, the off-road kit for his truck was missing, the driver’s chair torn, the dash radio torn out, and the ABS was not working properly.

The victim verbally stated that he had asked his neighbors about the said matter and he was told that they had seen the suspect at his house several times. They stated that they also saw the suspect driving his vehicle as well.

The officers did a follow up with the neighbors at the village to which they agreed to provide written statements, identifying Andrew Tautua as the perpetrator.

According to witness #1 (neighbor), she witnessed Tautua driving the victim’s truck near her house but can’t remember the exact time and date.

Witness #2, (victim’s brother) stated that he was in Fagasa and when he asked Tautua if he had the keys to the truck, and Tautua handed him the keys. The victim’s brother also stated that the neighbors told him that they saw the suspect driving the truck out a couple of times from the victim’s residence.

Police officers were unable to obtain a statement from the other neighbors because they were not home.

According to witness #3 (veteran’s friend), the victim reached out to him in September 2024 and was concerned regarding his truck. As a result, he went to check on the victim’s truck and found it in a horrible state — it had been trashed and was not working.

He then took photos of the condition of the truck, at his place in Fagasa, after he he was able to get the truck running by replacing the battery and cleaning it according to the victim’s wishes. Furthermore, the witness stated that the truck was in poor condition. The steering wheel was loose and the Bose system was not working.

It was noted that the victim was in Hawaii for nine months and his one of his friends was the only one who had the spare key to the room, which contained the keys to the truck, which were under the mattress.

Witness #4 (friend), stated that the victim left him with the spare key to the room and he told him that the spare key to the truck would be under the mattress if he needed it.

On February 5, 2025 at around 7:30 p.m., the officers met up with the victim again where he directed the officers toward his room and what appeared to be a storage room. Authorities then took pictures and the victim later informed the officers that he was a veteran and that he has PTSD.

At a later time, the officers met up with the suspect at his house and informed him about the investigation. He was transported by the police to the FPS for an interview.

Tautua was interviewed but refused to answer any and all questions.

On Feb. 6th, the victim directed the officers to two other potential witnesses who had also seen and taken part in selling some of his missing properties.

Witness #5, verbally stated that he accompanied Tautua when he went to sell the victim’s tattoo kit and his tools while using the victim’s truck to drive to the Aute Shop in Futiga. The witness stated that he could not recall the date and time.

Witness #6 directed the officers to another witness, who stated that he had seen Tautua driving the victim’s truck several times by his house.

The 28-year-old suspect is identified as a US National.

The affidavit does not state if Tautua was arrested and confined in prison after his interview or at a later time/ date.