Two suspects accused of repeatedly stealing chicken from Lucky 7 Store
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On February 4, 2024, at about 7:16pm, the owner of Lucky 7 Store in Nu’uuli contacted the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) regarding cases of chicken allegedly stolen from his store. Video surveillance showed the culprits taking these cases of chicken on separate dates and were identified as Sefo Pati and Pako Levao.
Both suspects were charged with one count of Felony Stealing — a class C felony, punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to seven (7) years, or a fine of $5000.
Additional counts for Pati are:
Count 2: Stealing — a class A misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment of not more than one (1) year, a fine of not more than $1000, or both.
Count 3: Fraudulent Use of Vehicle Plates — a class misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment of not more than six (6) months, a fine of not more than $500, or both.
Bail for both defendants was set at $5,000.
When police officers arrived at the Lucky 7 Store in Nu'uuli, they spoke with the owner who had difficulty explaining the issue due to the language barrier. The owner shared the surveillance video, identifying the two suspects stealing the cases of chicken.
In the surveillance video Pati was seen wearing a floral aloha shirt with green shorts. Tattoos were visible on both of the defendant’s arms as he was observed “taking two cases of chicken from the outside freezer.” The suspect was then seen “taking two additional cases of chicken.”
Soon after, a skinny male wearing a black t-shirt and shorts identified as Levao was observed “swiftly entering the store, walk back outside immediately, took two cases of chicken, and departed.”
On this date, a total of six (6) cases with the value of $16.99 per case were taken amounting to $101. 94 in stolen goods, according to the report.
The men allegedly left in the same vehicle, whereby an employee attempted to stop the vehicle from leaving, however the vehicle continued onto the main road.
Police officers were able to identify the owner of the vehicle through the license plate displayed on the surveillance footage. Once the information was relayed to the Traffic Division, officers were on the lookout for the vehicle and the suspects involved.
On February 5, 2024, police officers arrived in Taputimu at the residence of the owner of the vehicle linked to the Lucky 7 case. Officers observed three males near a white SUV, “accompanied by car wash items, two screwdrivers, and a license plate frame.”
Police officers recognized two of the individuals as Pati and Levao — the suspects seen on the surveillance footage, while stealing the cases of chicken from the Lucky 7 Store.
They further verified the license plate on the white SUV, which revealed that the license plate number actually belonged to a black F-250 truck. The officers noticed a black F-250 truck parked next to a mango tree with a different license plate number. Both the white SUV and the black truck were discovered to be registered to the same man.
As officers spoke to the suspects, they requested to meet with the owner of both vehicles, but the two men claimed that the owner was asleep.
However, an older man appeared as officers were speaking to the suspects and requested the key for the vehicle from one of the individuals. (He was eventually identified as the owner of the two vehicles.)
The older man was informed of the situation at hand and told that the license plates for the two vehicles had been switched, to which the officers saw the older man react with a sense of shock.
Officers requested that the owner of the vehicles accompany them to the police station for further investigation in which he agreed. All four individuals were taken to the TPS for questioning.
Upon arrival at the TPS, police officers spoke with Pati and explained the reason he was brought into the TPS. He was Mirandized and provided his statement.
Pati “expressed remorse” and explained that he drove to Lucky 7 with Levao as the passenger.
Pati walked into the store, walked back out and grabbed two cases of chicken from the freezer in front of the store, and placed the cases of chicken in the vehicle. Levao then exited the vehicle and brought two more cases of chicken as he entered the vehicle.
Pati further explained that they sold the cases of chicken to a store in Faleniu for $10 per case in which they received a total of $30 and a pack of cigarettes. He then shared that they returned home after the exchange.
He also “admitted to an additional act that night, where he took license plates from a broken-down truck and put them on the white [SUV] … out of concern for getting caught.” Pati recalled “three separate incidents of stealing chicken from Lucky 7” — that both he and Levao would go during the day taking two cases at a time. The stolen cases of chicken were always taken to the same store in Faleniu and sold to the owner of that store.
Police officers in addition spoke with Levao, who at first “laughed it off, suggesting it might be his twin brother.”
But once the surveillance video was played, “he admitted going with Pati to Lucky 7, taking two cases of chicken each.” Levao confirmed his involvement in previous incidents including the weekend before.
Levao stated that he and Pati stole cases of chicken “multiple times” but he could not recall the exact dates. Levao said that “Pati told him an Indian male employee at the store allowed them to take the chicken, leading him to believe they weren’t doing anything wrong.”
Levao’s older brother provided a statement in which he explained that in the surveillance video, his brother had a ponytail and he was unsure as to when it was cut off. “He expressed concern over the unusual activity of Pati and Levao washing the car at an odd hour of the night, deeming it abnormal.”
When police officers spoke with the owner of the vehicle, he revealed that “Pati is his son-in-law, expecting a child with his daughter in March 2024.”
The owner of the vehicle explained that on the day that the incident occurred, “Pati requested the car to buy mackerel (pilikaki) for his partner, accompanied by his son Levao.” He said that Pati and Levao returned home after an hour with two cans of pilikaki. The owner also explained that almost every day, “Pati and Levao use his car and he is unaware of their destinations, aside from trips to the store.”
On the same day, at about 9:12pm, police officers interviewed the owner of Faleniu Mart.
The owner provided her statement in which she confirmed purchasing cases of chicken from Pati, the individual that was in the video footage. She stated that “she believed the chicken was sourced from a neighbor who often sold her surplus chicken after certain gatherings or fa’alavelave events.”
The store owner recalled some occasions when Pati sold her a total of 5 cases of chicken and then another 4 cases, with each case of chicken priced at $10. She could not recall the specific dates but remembered Pati coming back twice in the previous week.
At about 9:20pm, the owner of Lucky 7 Store alongside his wife, “submitted a video into evidence regarding an incident that occurred on Friday, February 2, 2024.” The video displayed that around 5:11pm, a white Ford Escape entered the parking lot of the Lucky 7 Store. The video footage reveals Pati exiting the vehicle and proceeding directly towards the freezer, removing one case of chicken from the freezer and placing it on the back seat of the vehicle and repeating the process — this time taking out two cases of chicken and placing them in the back seat of the white SUV.
After about five minutes, the vehicle left the Lucky 7 parking lot.
Pati was seen wearing a blue t-shirt, camouflage shorts, and black slippers. It was revealed that Pati took a total of four cases of chicken on this day with each case valued at $16.99.
On February 5, 2024, at about 3pm, both suspects were booked and confined at the Tafuna Correctional Facility (TCF) for 48 hours, pending an arrest warrant.
Pati was identified as a 29-year-old citizen of Samoa, whereas Levao was identified as a 19-year-old U.S. National.