Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A woman accused of assaulting another woman allegedly due to family issues was arrested and charged. Lusi Taumaoe made her initial appearance in Court last month.

She is charged with 2nd-degree assault, a class D felony, punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to 5 years, a fine of up to $5,000, along with PPD, a misdemeanor.

Bail is set at $5,000.

THE ALLEGATION

The government claims that on July 13, 2022 about 7:21p.m, a 15-year-old girl contacted the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) to report that a woman from their neighbor assaulted her mother at their house by pulling her hair, punching her in the face and also kicking her back several times while her mother was on the ground.

The reporter also requested medical assistance for her mother saying that she was bleeding from her facial area and the back of her head.

Several police officers responded to the call and met up with the young girl who reported the alleged assault and interviewed her about the matter, while other officers were assisting the woman who was lying on the floor with blood covering her face. The woman was later identified as the victim in this case.

EMS crew arrived at the scene and the victim was transported to the LBJ Tropical Medical Center for further treatment.

According to the reporter’s statement to police, the woman, who lives next door assaulted her mother because of some issues they were having within the family. The reporter stated the woman who assaulted her mother was Lusi Taumaoe.

The reporter said she was watching television in her living room when she heard someone knock on the back door while calling her mother’s name. The reporter said she answered the knock and saw Lusi Taumaoe standing outside asking for her mother’s whereabouts.

The report told Mrs. Taumaoe that her mother was at the store, so Taumaoe waited outside of the house for the victim to return home. According to the reporter, she went back to watch TV with her two young siblings.

Later, she heard her mother in a verbal argument with Taumaoe outside of their house. The reporter ran outside to see what is going on, and when she opened the door, she saw Taumaoe pull her mother’s hair and slam her head towards the wall. Taumaoe also punched her mother in the face several times while pulling her mother’s hair down.

The reporter said she yelled out to other family members for help while Taumaoe continued assaulting her mother. She also saw Taumaoe kick her mother in her back while she was lying on the ground.

Investigators interviewed other eye-witnesses who were at the scene during the alleged assault and they shared the same statement about what happened.

Investigators went to the defendant’s home in an effort to speak to her but her husband said she had gone to the police station in Tafuna to turn herself in.

Investigators went to the TPS and found the defendant there. She was then apprehended and interviewed about what happened. The defendant was Mirandized where she said she understood and agreed to make a statement about what happened.

According to the defendant’s statement, she blamed the victim for causing trouble in their neighborhood. She said she wanted to talk to the victim about something personal but the victim yelled at her and called her names. The victim also accused her (defendant) and her husband of selling drugs in the village.

The defendant admits that she assaulted the victim.