Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On September 27, 2024, the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) received a call regarding a male individual with a machete who allegedly threatened a minor.

The defendant was arrested and charged with:

Count 1 : Public Peace Disturbance, a class C misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to fifteen days, a fine of $300, or both;

Count 2: Assault in the Third Degree, a class A misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to one year, a fine of $1,000 or both; and,

Count 3: Assault in the Third Degree ( As a C. Misd.), a class C misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to fifteen days, a fine of $300, or both.

The defendant’s bail was set at $50,000.

(Samoa News is not reporting the defendant’s name to protect the minor involved in the incident.)

According to the affidavit, on September 27th, at about 8:50 p.m., TPS received a call regarding a male individual who was identified by the caller. The caller reported that the suspect cut down the banana tree near the road and was walking on the road with a machete.

At about 8:58 p.m., while officers were patrolling, three male teenagers stopped the police unit and pointed out the house across from a CCCAS chapel that the suspect ran towards holding a machete.

Upon arrival at the house, the officers observed the suspect outside the house holding a machete. Officers tried to talk to him regarding the incident, but the suspect took off through the back of the neighborhood.

The officers then rounded the area using the police unit, and one of the families in the area yelled for help. Police found out that the suspect had gone with a machete to the victims and the victims pointed out where the suspect had run.

While interviewing the victims, officers heard someone screaming in the bushes. The officers checked it out and found that one of the victims had pinned the suspect to the ground.

The officers handcuffed the suspect and placed him inside the police unit. Officers report they detected a strong odor of alcohol emitting from the suspect’s breath, and he had slurred speech. Police also reported that the suspect was shouting profanities in Samoan non-stop while they were putting him in the police unit.

The suspect was transported to the TPS for further investigation.

The minor involved was also interviewed and he stated that he was walking on the dirt road going back to his house when the suspect came out of nowhere with a machete. The victim said that the suspect attempted to hit him with the machete, and asked him what do you want. The 12-year-old said luckily he ran towards his house, with the suspect chasing after him. He screamed to his family for help and his sister in-law came out of the house and brought him in.

The suspect then stood outside the house by the window and pointed the machete at them and asked, “What do you guys want?” At this time, they were screaming for help and were afraid and felt threatened by what the suspect was doing.

According to the sister in-law, she was at the house around 8 p.m., when she heard someone running towards their house. She discovered that the minor was being chased by the suspect with a machete in his hand. That’s when she went outside to tell the suspect to go away and brought the minor inside the house for his safety.

The suspect then stood outside their living room window and pointed the machete at them and asked them “What do you want?” The suspect was walking outside their house, but luckily they saw a police unit passing by and they yelled out for help.

According to the victim who pinned the suspect down, he was helping the officers to catch the suspect.

He explained that while he was walking in the bushes, he was shocked when the suspect swung the machete at him and struck the tree next to him. The suspect then continued to run away until he threw the machete away. He (the victim) chased the suspect down and tackled him to the ground and waited for the police to arrest the suspect.

The victim also said as he was pinning the suspect down, the defendant made a threatening remark and said he would kill him when he got out of jail.

The suspect was Mirandized and agreed to make a statement.

According to the suspect, he didn’t do anything and didn’t know why he was bought into the police station. Police officers asked him about the machete that was used and where he left it, to which he responded that he didn’t remember where in the bushes he tossed it.

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

The defendant is identified as a 39-year-old U.S National.