Two women arrested for trying to extort $30 from a store owner
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Mr. Xianglin Song, owner of the Faga’alu Drug Store, located next to LBJ Medial Center, contacted police on Monday, June 12, 2023 to inform them that his wallet was stolen out of his unlocked car, when he was carrying products into his store from his vehicle.
Song, who is the victim in this case, said he noticed that his car door was open (passenger side) when he returned to his vehicle to continue to unload goods for his store. He then discovered that the glove compartment was open and that his wallet was missing.
He said he immediately deactivated his bank cards and he had no cash in his wallet, but it did hold important identification cards, such as he and his wife’s social security cards.
The following day, Song, reported that that two females, later identified as Sweetie Tufele and Talitakumi Fa’ala’ula’u and two other unknown males came to his store and demanded $30 from him to get his wallet back. The victim thought it was unfair because it was his property.
An employee at the store stated that two females walked in first, and were then followed by two males afterwards, who told them to pay $30 for the wallet because a kid who they called AJ, gave it to them and that they had paid for the wallet.
The employee told them that they would let the police handle this situation, and called the DPS., and while she called for assistance, the group of people fled the scene in a black truck.
At 12:20p.m, on the same day, officers obtained surveillance footage of the incident when the 4 individuals were seen talking to the victim and holding the victim’s wallet.
An APB was then put out by the Fagatogo Police Central Station dispatcher and other officers were also notified to look out for these individuals identified by surveillance footage.
Two days later on June 15, 2023, officers located the females in Puapua, Leone and detained them at the Tafuna Police Substation.
Officers then conducted a pat-down before bringing them in. Drug paraphernalia was allegedly discovered on Tufele’s person. Tufele and Fa’ala’ula’u were Mirandized separately and both agreed to make statements during their interview.
According to Fa’ala’ula’u, a guy who goes by the name Sio, came to her husband’s house in Leone during nighttime and gave them the wallet, new van shoes, a jacket, an iPad, puff bars and other items stating they were stolen. Fa’ala’ula’u then admits she knew the items were stolen and that she and her friend Tufele were just trying to return it to the rightful owner to get some money.
Tufele also admitted to knowingly obtaining stolen property from the same kid and decided to go along with the plan, by blackmailing the victim to gain money.
Both Tufele and Fa’ala’ula’u are being charged with 1 criminal count each —receiving stolen property. Bail is set at $500for each of them.
The two males, who accompanied the women, seem to have not been located by the police at this time.