Man who was apprehended twice then allegedly threatens witness
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On April 26, 2024, a female individual contacted Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) that they had caught a man stealing from their father’s plantation and were holding him until police arrived.
The man was later apprehended— twice — and charged with the following:
Count 1: Public Peace Disturbance — a class B misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for six months, a fine of $500, or both;
Count 2: Stealing — a class A misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to one year, a fine of $1,000, or both; and,
Count 3: Trespass — a class B misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for six months, a fine of $500, or both.
The defendant’s bail was set at $2,000.
According to the affidavit, on April 26, 2024 at an unknown time, suspect England Ene unlawfully entered a family’s land and stole sixteen taro from their plantation.
An investigation by police into the matter revealed that a minor allegedly witnessed the suspect roaming around his father’s plantation with a red handbag that was found at the scene.
At about 6:34 p.m the TPS dispatcher received a call from a female stating that they found the man that had been stealing from their father’s plantation. The female also stated that they were holding the suspect until the police arrived and that they have a witness who saw the suspect roaming around the plantation.
Police officers then proceeded to the matter and upon arrival at the scene, they observed people in front of the Vaiala store in Pavaiai. The officers approached a male individual who identified himself as the victim and he verbally stated what had happened. The victim also reported that his son witnessed seeing the suspect in their plantation pulling taro and putting it inside a red bag.
The suspect was apprehended and was placed inside the police unit to be transported to the TPS for further investigation. Upon arrival at the TPS, the suspect was Mirandized where he chose to make a statement and answer questions.
According to the suspect’s verbal statement, he went to Pavaiai to help out his cousin with cleaning his garden.
The suspect claimed that the victim’s son came and picked him up to go to his house to look for car parts. He stated after fixing the car, the victim’s son dropped him back in front of the Vaiala store next to his cousin’s house.
The suspect explained that he sat there for a while and the victim along with his kids came and confronted him about stealing from their plantation. Furthermore, he stated he has nothing to do with stealing at the plantation and that he did not go inside someone else’s land.
After the interrogation, the suspect was released to go home after being advised not to approach the witness and the victim, or even go near the scene.
The suspect did not follow the advice and instead decided to go back to the scene and scare the witness.
The victim contacted TPS to complain of the suspect being around their area again and calling the witness and cussing him out.
Officers proceeded to the Vaiala store where the suspect was apprehended once again and was transported to TPS to be booked and confined at the Tafuna Correctional Facility until the next available sitting at the District Court.
The defendant is identified as a 22 year-old citizen of Samoa.