Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man accused of unlawfully entering his in-laws’ house and stealing an ATM card was arrested by police last week pursuant to an arrest warrant from the court. When asked why he did this, the defendant, Iafeta Palelei stated that it was his wife who instructed him to do it, including taking the card..

Palelei made his initial appearance in court last week.

He is charged with one count of 2nd degree burglary, a class C felony, punishable by terms of imprisonment of up to 7 years, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.

Bail is set at $5,000.

If he posts bond, the defendant is advised not to set foot at the victims’ house, nor try to make any form of contact with them.

THE CASE

On Dec. 2, 2020 about 5:10a.m, a woman contacted the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) to report a burglary that allegedly took place at her residence in Fagaima. Several police officers responded to the call and met with the reporter at her residence and she briefed officers on what had happened.

The reporter told officers that she was sleeping with her family when she was startled by a sound in the house. She woke and saw a figure of a man in the living room, who she recognized as Iafeta Palelei, the defendant in this matter. Palelei saw her and ran away immediately while the she was screaming out his name.

She then checked the table in her living room and saw her wallet had been removed from where it had been and that her ANZ ATM card was missing.

Officers obtained a description of the suspect, as well as the location of his house. The suspect, who lives right down the road from the victims was not at his residence when officers checked. Locating the suspect was unsuccessful and the woman who reported the incident was advised to call the TPS again if she sees the suspect around the area.

Four hours later around 9 a,m, the same woman called the TPS again to report that she had seen the suspect at his residence. Several police officers responded and went to the suspect’s house and encountered an unknown male talking on his cell phone outside of the house.

When police officers asked the male if he was Iaseta Palelei, he immediately turned around and ran into the bushes. Officers chased after him and the male was immediately apprehended and placed in police custody. The individual was identified as Palelei, the defendant in this matter. He was patted down, but nothing was found; and he was transported to the TPS for further investigation.

When questioned by investigators about the alleged incident, Palelei immediately confessed to entering his in-laws’ house uninvited and stealing a few items, but told investigators that it was his wife’s idea to break into the victim’s house.

He further stated that his wife is the daughter of the victim. His wife told him to go into the house to find her parents’ ATM card.

Palelei said that when he got inside the house, his mother-in-law caught him, after which he ran away, with her yelling his name. He arrived home and gave the ATM card to his wife who left with it later on.

The investigation revealed that Palelei’s wife is not on good terms with her parents, as they had her and the defendant removed from their residence due to their marital problems. The defendant and his wife were told not to return to her parent’s residence.