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Young man with a juvenile record is in jail — again

Territorial Correctional Facility, TCF
reporters@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A 19-year-old male charged with resisting arrest and public peace disturbance made his initial appearance in District Court yesterday morning.

Pete Peters is in custody at the Territorial Correctional Facility (TCF) and Judge Elvis P. Patea has set bail at $500.

The charges against Peters stem from an incident that occurred around 2a.m. in the Satala/Pago Pago area yesterday morning.

According to the government's case, police were contacted for assistance regarding three males engaged in a fight with one man, whom they were allegedly attempting to throw in the ocean.

En route to the scene, responding officers met up with a female cannery worker in Pago Pago who told them that everyone who was involved in the fight had left on one of the StarKist buses, but only one stayed behind.

She proceeded to describe the suspect to police.

Further down the road, cops met up with another female cannery worker who told them that one of the men involved in the fight was near the cemetery in Satala.

Cops say when they got to the area, there was no fight, but they did locate a male who matched the description that was provided to them by a witness.

The criminal complaint notes that cops detected a strong odor of alcohol emitting from Peters and he "seemed heavily intoxicated."

One of the officers advised Peters to go home and sleep it off, but Peters refused. He continued to "act like he wanted to pick a fight," and he kept cussing.

Peters was then handcuffed and transported to the police station for questioning. Afterwards, he was escorted to the TCF.

On the way there, however, officers claim Peters lost control and tried to "hop on the front seat" of the police unit. The cop who was driving immediately stopped the car and he, along with a fellow officer, pulled the defendant out of the vehicle, in an effort to move him to a different seat. "But he resisted by flexing and by pulling his body away" from the officers, according to the court affidavit.

At this point, Peters continued to shout profanities as the cops tried to put him back into the vehicle. One cop jumped in the driver's seat while the other had to sit in the back with Peters, to hold him down "because he was still resisting."

Peters allegedly cussed at the cops and upon arrival at the TCF, he allegedly threatened one of them, saying, "Now I see your face … I'll **** you up."

Peters, although only 19 years old, is not new to the system. His juvenile record notes that on May 14, 2017, he was charged with first degree robbery and third degree assault.

Later that same year in November, he was charged with public peace disturbance and was found guilty of underage drinking. He spent 2 days in jail and was subsequently sentenced to 9 months probation.

On Sept. 15, 2018, Peters was charged with public peace disturbance, third degree assault, resisting arrest, and interfering with an arrest.

For this new matter, his next court appearance is scheduled for April 24.