Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A 33-year old man from Mapusaga Fou wanted for assaulting a man on Christmas eve last year is now in custody after he was arrested last month for another assault incident.

During his arrest, police discovered illegal substances in his possession

Kalifa Malaesaili made his initial appearance in Court last month.

He is charged with one count of unlawful possession of methamphetamine and one count of unlawful possession of marijuana, both unclassified felonies, along with one count of 2nd-degree assault, a class D felony, punishable by imprisonment for up to five years, a $5,000, or both such a fine and imprisonment.

Bail is set at $15,000.

THE CASE

On Apr. 12, 2022 at about 10:24p.m, a woman from Nu’uuli called the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) to report a man who assaulted her boyfriend using a piece of metal.

Several police officers responded to the call and met up with the reporter in this case. Officers arrived and saw the victim sitting outside his house — he was bleeding from his scalp and nose.

When questioned by officers, the victim stated that he was standing at the back of his vehicle parked at a store parking lot in Tafuna when he heard a female voice calling out to him to move his car because he was blocking their way out.

The victim looked back and saw a female and two males inside a vehicle also parked at the store parking lot. He did not respond to the female but continued to stand at the back of his vehicle waiting for his girlfriend, who was inside the store.

When his girlfriend did come from inside the store, they both smoked a cigarette. At this time, all of a sudden the female individual who had called out to him came and approached them — yelling profanities and telling them to move their car.

The victim and his girlfriend then started to argue with the female and when he (victim) turned his back he was blindsided by a man, who is identified as the defendant in this case, and was later identified as Kalifa Malaesaili.

The government alleges that Malaesaili punched the victim and struck him two times on the head with a metal construction tool. He also kicked the victim in his back while he was lying on the ground. That’s when his girlfriend called for police assistance.

Malaesaili fled the scene before police officers arrived.

The victim was later escorted inside a police unit and transported to the Leone Police Substation (LPS) to be treated by the EMS and for further investigation.

In the meantime, officers went to locate Malaesaili and the female who had yelled at the victim, to no avail.

Officers obtained footage from the store video surveillance system, which confirmed that the victim was struck from behind by Malaesaili two times using a metal object before he punched and kicked him.

One week later, a woman called the TPS to report that her son, Malaesaili was having a party with two male friends at her house and she wanted police to come and take him.

Several officers arrived at the residence and quickly surrounded the area to stop the defendant from fleeing and then apprehended the defendant, transported him to the TPS for questioning.

Before Malaesaili was transported to the TPS, he was patted down for weapons or contrabands. During a body search, officers found a glass pipe containing white crystalline substance, and a small stamp sized baggie containing green leafy substance inside his pocket.

Malaesaili was Mirandized and he stated that he understood and refused to make a statement.

It was also revealed during the interview that there was an arrest warrant under the defendant’s name for his involvement in an alleged assault case in December of last year.

THE ARREST WARRANT

It was Dec. 25, 2021 at approximately 8:32p.m when police at the Tafuna Substation (TSS) received a call from a man, saying that his son had been assaulted by another person and was being taken to the LBJ Hospital by ambulance for further treatment.

Several police officers responded to the call and found out that a 25-year-old man suffered severe injuries to his lower back and head and he needed immediate surgery.

Investigators interviewed the victim’s father, who informed them that his son (victim) was allegedly assaulted by man known to be his girlfriend’s male cousin from Vailoa. The male cousin was later identified as Kalifa Malaesaili, the defendant in this matter.

The father further stated to investigators that his son was assaulted while he was at his girlfriend’s home in Vailoa.

Investigators went over to Vailoa to locate the suspect but they were informed by a family member that the defendant lives in Kokoland with his family. Officers proceeded to Kokoland to locate the suspect but were unsuccessful. The suspect was not at home.

They visited the home the following day, Dec. 26 but he was not at home. Officers followed up on him one week later but he was nowhere to be found. Investigators were unable to locate the suspect and a request was made to his family to transport the suspect to the Tafuna Sub-station for an interview regarding the alleged incident.

As investigators were looking for an eyewitness, the victim’s father told investigators that according to his son (victim) he was in the living room with his girlfriend when the alleged assault took place.

Investigators were able to bring the girlfriend in for an interview. The girlfriend told investigators that she was not around when her cousin (suspect) allegedly assaulted the victim.

She explained that she went to the car parked in front of the house looking for her cell phone but she heard her boyfriend yelling out to her for help. She ran inside the house and saw her cousin (defendant) assaulting her boyfriend by kicking his back and punching him in the face while her boyfriend was lying on the floor.

The girlfriend further stated to investigators that she tried hard to stop the fight but it was getting out of hand and that’s when she ran outside calling for help and a few moments later, she noticed her boyfriend running outside from the house covered in blood. She immediately took her boyfriend to seek help.

When investigators asked the witness if she saw the suspect stab the victim, the witness responded, “I did not see that part because I was outside of the house.”

Two days after the alleged incident, investigators interviewed the victim at his home.

According to the victim’s statement, he was inside the living room with his girlfriend when the defendant walked in intoxicated and asked who gave him permission to enter the house and speak to his cousin. The defendant then instructed him to get out of the house.

As the victim was about the leave the house, the defendant allegedly punched him and then stabbed him in the back and shoulder with a pocketknife. The defendant also struck his head with an hard object causing him to fall down on the floor.

The victim told investigators that his girlfriend was also present when he was assaulted and she tried to stop the defendant but he was out of control.

During a second interview with the victim’s girlfriend, she told investigators that she was with her boyfriend during the time of the alleged assault.

She told investigators that her cousin (defendant) walked inside the house through the back door and yelled at her boyfriend about who gave him permission to enter the house and speak to her.

She confirmed that there was an exchanged of words between the defendant and her boyfriend and all of a sudden, the defendant punched her boyfriend three times in the face before he (defendant) stabbed him with a small knife in the back and on his right shoulder.

She immediately called for police assistance and the EMS for help and her boyfriend was later transported to LBJ for treatment.

The defendant is charged with one count of second-degree assault, a class D felony, punishable by imprisonment of up to 5 years, a fine of up to $5,000 or both, along with misdemeanor charges of armed with a dangerous weapon, PPD and property damage.

Bail is set at $10,000 for this matter.