Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A young man accused of burglarizing the home of a Filipino couple is now in custody after he was arrested by police last month.

Felesi Toilolo made his initial appearance in Court last month.

He is charged with three counts of information including one count of 1st-degree burglary, a class B felony, punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than five years nor more than fifteen years; along with one count of stealing and one count of attempted burglary, both class C felonies, punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to seven years, a $5,000 fine or pursuant to A.S.C.A 46.2101, a fine equal to twice the amount of gain from the commission of said crime, up to a maximum of $20,000, or both such fine and imprisonment.

The court set bail at $15,000.

THE CASE

On Apr. 27, 2022 at approximately 8am, the Leone Police Substation (LPS) received a call from a man stating that someone had broken into their house while they were sleeping. He reported that an unknown individual came through the patio at the rear of the family home.

The individual then made his way into the house via the backdoor and continued into the living room area. The individual grabbed a soda that was in the fridge and consumed it; and, then took a grey backpack, which was located on the living room sofa.

Inside the backpack, according to the reporter’s statement, was his wallet containing his personal information as well as Air Pods Pro, a digital recorder, two rechargeable flashlights, one USB flash drive, Bose headphones, a brown beach hat, a pair of black and white Adidas sports shoes and $200 cash.

The reporter further stated to police that when he and his wife woke up he realized that the front door was wide open and that some of his property was missing, he also saw the damage to the back door. He then immediately contacted the LPS for assistance.

The next day, Apr. 28, the victim contacted the LPS again stating that he was in the kitchen when he observed a child-like figure climbing through the back patio of his house in an attempt to strike again. The reporter further stated to police that he got a clear look at the male’s face.

At one point the male realized someone was home, and quickly jumped back through the point of entry and took off on foot heading south bound through the plantation. The reporter quickly followed the male while contacting the LPS — telling police that he was following the guy that had tried to break into his residence again.

Several police officers responded to the call. Officers observed the reporter’s vehicle in the Malaeloa area waving to police while at the same time pointing to a male riding his bike, saying that was the person that had broken into his house just moments ago.

Officers immediately pulled over the male on the bike and apprehended him before taking him to the LPS for further investigation. The male was later identified as Felise Toilolo, the defendant in this matter.

Before Toilolo was interviewed by investigators, he was Mirandized, and said was willing to make a statement.

According to Toilolo, close to midnight on Apr. 27, 2022, he decided to break into the victim’s house to steal stuff so that he can sell it to buy food and drinks for him and his friends. He stated that he was not sure whether the couple was inside the house or not, when he decided to enter.

He went to the house by himself and looked through the window and saw nobody inside the living room. He went straight to the kitchen, and took a lot of things and placed them all inside his big bag that was already set aside for his mission. He took a flash drive, battery pack, Ninja Blade, a tablet, a hat, a pair of black sport shoes and some other items he didn’t recall.

(The gray backpack seems not to be mentioned by Toilolo or the money the victim says was taken by Toilolo.)

After he placed all the items he stole inside his bag, he then exited the house through the front door and quickly fled before the couple wake up and found him inside the house.

The next day, the suspect told investigators, he heard rumors about the Filipino couple’s house being burglarized by an unknown person.

Before the suspect went to the house the second time, he planned that he wanted to take electronic items so that he could sell them. He also wanted to find his necklace and the tablet that he had dropped the night before. Furthermore, he wanted to go inside the couple’s bedroom to find money.

Around 7p.m on Apr. 28, the suspect went to the location where he planned the mission and waited there until the area was clear. After a few minutes, he then walked to the location where the couple’s house was located and climbed through the space between the roof and wall at the back of the house. The suspect told investigators that he did not see the couple inside the house. He figured they had gone somewhere or were sleeping.

As he was trying to make his way down to the back window, the suspect stated that he was shocked when he saw the Filipino man standing in the kitchen looking straight at him. He tried to freeze, thinking that the Filipino man might not come out, but he saw the man kept on looking at him while walking to the back door to open it.

The suspect quickly jumped down and fled the area while at the same time the Filipino man was yelling at him saying that he was calling the police. The suspect stated he ran straight to his older brother’s house and tried to catch his breath.

The suspect further stated to investigators that he did not know the Filipino man followed him, however, while he was riding his bike in the area where he usually hangs out with his home boys, he was shocked when he saw the Filipino guy standing on the other side of the road looking straight at him.

He tried to act normal because he didn’t want his home boys or his brother to think that something was going on between him and the Filipino man. However, he was shocked when he saw two police units pull up and several police officers then arrested him.

The suspect explained to investigators that this is something that he had planned for a long time, because he wanted to get money to buy food and drinks.