Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On October 18, 2024, a female individual contacted the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) to report two male individuals allegedly fighting in a public place in front of a store.

One of the male individuals was apprehended and later charged with Count 1: Assault in the Second Degree, a class D felony punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to five years, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.

The defendant’s bail was set at $5,000.

According to the affidavit, on October 18th, at around 6:33 p.m., an individual claimed to the TPS that two male individuals were fighting in front of a store. Police officers responded to the call and upon arrival at the scene, they observed a crowd in front of the store.

The officers were able to locate both individuals.

As one of the officers approached one of the male individuals, he observed a laceration on his right eye and a huge swollen lump on the left eye. Blood was also observed all over the individual's facial area and on his shirt.

When the officer asked him about the incident, the male individual (later identified as the victim) verbally stated that he was walking from outside the store when the suspect appeared out of nowhere. The suspect approached him and asked him “What do you want?” The victim claimed he didn’t know or hear anything due to his hearing problems, so the suspect, Kapeneta Tupua walked towards him and struck his head twice with a blue 1 X 3 wooden piece of lumber.

The officers detained the suspect and placed him inside the police unit. Both parties were then escorted to the TPS for further investigation. At the same time, authorities contacted the EMS for treatment for both parties.

Upon arrival at the station, the EMS crew were standing by where both parties were treated and both refused to be admitted to the LBJ Hospital.

The reporter also gave a written statement where she stated she was an eyewitness to the incident.

She explained she was standing outside of the store waiting for the victim that went inside the store to buy beer. She said that she was shocked when out of nowhere, she heard the suspect asking the victim “Why are you looking at me like that?” Suddenly, she claimed the suspect walked straight up to the victim and hit him twice with a 1 X 3 wooden stick and the victim scuffled the suspect to the ground.

The suspect was also interviewed after he was Mirandized and understood his rights.

According to the suspect, he verbally stated that it was right after the village curfew that he saw the victim drinking alcohol in front of the store. He then told the victim that he can’t consume any alcohol in front of the store, which the victim didn’t respond back to him like he didn’t care. He then approached the victim and hit him with his 1 X 3 wooden stick directly on his facial area twice. The suspect also stated that he also thought that the victim tried to throw a can of beer at him.

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

Photos pertaining to injuries of the victim were also taken as evidence.