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Man will serve time for assaulting neighbor’s son

American Samoa High Court building
ausage@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man convicted of assaulting his neighbor’s son with the steel handle of a broom was ordered by the court to depart the territory and remain outside of its borders as a condition of his 5-year probation. He will depart the territory once flights between the two Samoas resume.

Aloalii Amituana’i, who has been in custody since his arrest in January of this year unable to post a $5,000 surety bond appeared in High Court last week for sentencing.

The defendant, an overstayer, was originally charged with 2nd degree assault, the charge he pled guilty to, a class D felony, punishable by imprisonment of up to 5 years, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.

When given the chance to address the court, Amituana’i apologized for his action and begged for a second chance to return home to his wife and children. He also told the court that he felt truly remorseful for what he did.

His defense attorney asked the court for a probated sentenced without any additional period of detention, which was also echoed by the prosecutor in this matter.

After a brief recess, the court sentenced Amituana’i to 5 years imprisonment and a $5,000 fine. Execution of sentence was suspended, and the defendant was placed on probation for 5 years subject to several conditions.

He shall serve 20 months in jail without any release whatsoever. Upon release from detention, Amituana’i must immediately depart the territory and remain outside of its borders for the remaining period of his probation.

The court stated that based on the information provided by Probation, the defendant was here on a tourist visa.

The court ordered that once the defendant finished serving his detention and his travel arrangements were completed, he would only then be released to the Probation Office and immediately transported to his port of exit.

Furthermore, the court ordered that the certified copy of the Judgment and Sentence must be served on the Chief Immigration Officer or his assignee to make sure the defendant’s name is on their lookout list.

BACKGROUND

The arrest was made on June. 22nd, 2020, when Amituana’i and two of his buddies were drinking in front of a house on his friend’s birthday.

According to the criminal complaint, when it started raining, Amituana’i and his friends made their way into the home, where he saw his 16-year old niece talking to the 16-year-old victim, who is a boy from the neighborhood, in front of the house.

Amituana’i did not like his niece talking to the victim because he had heard that the victim and his two older brothers were allegedly involved in drugs.

He called out to his niece to come home and she did. However, the victim yelled out to Amituana’i, saying that he had no right to stop him from talking to his niece because he’s not her father.

Amituana’i got mad and walked over to the victim’s house, where he allegedly grabbed a broom with a steel handle, which was lying on the ground next to where he was standing and went to strike the victim on his back, while he was not looking. However, the victim turned around in time and put his elbow up to shield himself from the second strike, which caused injuries to his arm and head.

The defendant’s third swing missed the victim who dashed out of the house and sought refuge at a neighbor's home, from where a woman contacted police for assistance.

When cops arrived at the scene, they heard the victim's side of the story and EMS personnel were contacted to render medical assistance. Amituana’i was nowhere to be found.

Police were able to apprehend him two days after the incident.