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Suspect in Ottoville burglary also charged with meth possession

American Samoa District Court building
ausage@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man accused of burglarizing a home in Ottoville two months ago has been arrested and is now in custody, with bail set at $25,000.

Akeripa Malele made his initial appearance in District Court last week. He is represented by Assistant Public Defender Bob Stuart, while prosecuting is Assistant Attorney General Laura Garvey.

The government charged Malele in two separate cases. In the first case, he is charged with 2 counts of second degree burglary and 2 counts of stealing, both class C felonies, punishable by up to 7 years in jail, 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 $20K, or both such fine and imprisonment.

In the second case, Malele is charged with one count of unlawful possession of methamphetamine, a felony, punishably by imprisonment from 5 to 10 years, a fine of up to $20,000 or both.

Preliminary examination is Tuesday, Mar. 17th at 10a.m.

THE CASE

On Jan 11th, a woman called police to report that her Ottoville home had been burglarized. When cops arrived, they observed that several bedrooms had been ransacked and the back door was damaged.

According to the caller, on Jan. 10th, she instructed her son to secure the house and make sure all doors were locked after he cleaned up the yard with two of her male employees. The woman said her son and the two employees went to the house and everything was squared away, they even turned the lights on and locked all doors before they left.

The next morning, Jan. 11th, the woman and her son returned to the house and noticed that the lights were off, the front screen door was locked from the inside and the back door was damaged. The women inspected the property and noticed that some of her belongings were on the ground in the back yard. The house had been ransacked.

Police spoke to an eyewitness who said that on Jan. 10th, at a little past midnight, she observed two male individuals walking around the house with their flashlight. She said she asked the men what they were looking for and one of them said they were looking for the person that broke into their house a few moments ago.

According to the witness, the two male individuals walked around the house and the yard before they disappeared into the brush. The witness gave investigators a huge lead in their case, saying that one of the men she saw that night is known by “Shooty”. According to the witness, he was wearing a red T-shirt and black pants on that night.

‘Shooty’ was later identified as Akeripa Malele, the defendant in this case. According to the government, the defendant has a criminal record.

Investigators spoke to a second witness, who stated that on the night of the alleged incident, he saw Malale’s pick up truck parked in a dark area close to the house that was ransacked.

The witness further stated to police that he asked Malele why his pick up truck was parked on that side of the road, and Malele told him he was waiting for a friend. According to the second witness, Malele was wearing black pants and a red shirt.

On the morning of Jan. 11th, a 39-year-old male, a former inmate at the TCF, contacted police and said he knew who burglarized the Kokoland home.

According to him, two men were involved and they gave him a laptop, which he turned it over to police, who later returned it to the victim.

The witness told police that while sitting at a bus stop in the Tafuna area on the night of Jan. 10th, Malele asked him, if he wanted to buy a laptop for $60. Malele, told the witness that he really need money to pay for his daughter’s bill at the LBJ hospital.

The witness gave Malele $40 and Malele handed over to the witness a laptop. The next morning, the witness contacted police and informed them about the laptop.

On Jan. 16th, investigators spoke to a known associate of Malele, and asked him to set up a meeting with him. The man was not to let Malele know that police would show up.

Malele agreed to meet and several cops turned up and apprehended him. Malele was cuffed and placed in the police unit, but he attempted to flee by jumping through the open driver’s side window.

When questioned, Malele told police that he and another male entered the home through the back door. He said he took some items and carried other stuff outside and left it on the ground at the back of the house.

He said his partner took some items but didn’t know what they were, adding that he returned some stuff to the victim and he was trying to figure out how to return the rest of the stolen items.

When asked if the 39-yr-old witness accompanied him during the burglary, Malele said no. He said the witness was his best friend, and he sold him a laptop on the night of the incident for $40.

Before Malele was interviewed, a body search was carried out, where police found two small baggies containing a white crystalline substance which tested positive for meth. When asked about the two baggies, Malele said it was a gift from one of his friends in Iliili after he gave him several electric tools he stole from the Ottoville home.

According to the victim, a male came by and returned several stolen items to her, saying the items were bought from Malele on an unknown day and time. The man told police that on Jan. 11th, he received two new pairs of shoes, clothes and an electric drill from Malele.

According to the victim, the missing items included: several electrics tools; shoes; clothes; speakers; 2 laptops; 2 iPhones; 2 speakers; $301 cash that was on the table inside the master bedroom; jewelry.

According to the government, an arrest warrant for the second defendant in this case is in process.