Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On March 16, 2025, a security guard at a local nightclub contacted the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) for assistance regarding a fight at the bar. A woman was allegedly assaulted.

Kolas Faagutu was later arrested and charged with:

Count 1: Assault in the Third Degree, a class A misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to one year, a fine of $1,000, or both; and,

Count 2: Public Peace Disturbance, a class B misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to six months, a fine of $500, or both.

There was no set bail for the defendant.

According to the court affidavit, on Mar. 16th, at around 1:33 a.m., a nightclub security guard called TPS and reported a fight inside and outside of the club. Police officers responded to the call and upon arrival at the scene, they met with several security guards who briefed them regarding the situation.

One of the guards stated that a girl was hit in the face with a bottle after a fight broke outside the nightclub. The guard explained that the suspect who hit the girl was being chased down by unknown individuals.

After the officers assessed the situation, the suspect was apprehended and placed inside the police unit and transported to TPS for further investigation. Upon arrival at the station, the suspect was Mirandized to which he understood and agreed to provide a statement.

The suspect stated that he was standing around the bathroom area inside the bar and a man walked inside and was struck by someone. The suspect explained that the man turned around and assumed it was Faagutu who assaulted him, even though he told the man that it wasn’t him. However, he was struck in the face, and escorted out by security.

The suspect continued that he was then approached by the same individual and his peers and was struck again. This is when he used the beer bottle he was holding and threw it at the man, but it missed and struck the woman in the face.

At this point, Faagutu ran away, not wanting to get into any other altercation.

The suspect was booked and confined at the Tafuna Correctional Facility to await the next available sitting of the District Court.

The officers then proceeded to the LBJ Hospital to meet with the victim who was struck with the bottle. The victim stated that she had no idea what happened. She explained that her friends around her told her that she fainted, for about five to ten minutes, after being struck in the face.

The affidavit notes that “the only visible injuries were a small scratch on the victim’s nose, all vitals were normal as well.”

The defendant is identified as a 28 year-old citizen of Samoa.