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Tafuna man who was initially charged with PPD is now facing drug charges

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ausage@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man who was arrested for disturbing the public peace last week is now facing felony charges of unlawful possession of illegal drugs.

Agasii Viliamu made his initial appearance in court late last month on the charges of third degree assault and public peace disturbance, both misdemeanors.

During court proceedings, Judge Elvis P. Patea set a Status Hearing for Viliamu the following morning, on Friday. When Viliamu appeared that day, he was served a copy of the arrest warrant for the new case against him, where he is charged with unlawful possession of methamphetamine, a felony punishable by imprisonment of 5-10 years, a fine of $5,000-$20,000 or both.

Bond is set at $5,000.

If  Viliamu is able to post bond, he is ordered to remain law abiding, not leave or attempt to leave the territory without prior permission from the court, and he is not to make any direct or indirect contact with the government’s witnesses, including the victim.

THE CASE

The government claims that on Aug. 21, 2019 at around 10:54p.m, a woman from Tafuna contacted the Tafuna Substation to report that her son was allegedly assaulted by a man who goes by the name, “KING”.

KING was later identified as Agasii Viliamu, the defendant in this case.

According to the woman, her 19-year-old son went to the store and ended up being punched in the face by Viliamu for no reason.

Police who responded to the call found a male that matched the suspect’s description, sitting on the back of a truck parked in front of the store where the alleged incident took place.

When police approached the male and asked if his name was KING, Viliamu said yes.

Before Viliamu was transported to the Tafuna Substation for questioning, police conducted a body search and discovered a glass pipe containing meth inside Viliamu’s pants pocket.

When asked about the glass pipe, Viliamu told police he got it from a taxi driver, but refused to reveal the taxi driver’s name.

Viliamu is set to appear in court this week for a preliminary election.