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Young man with multiple brushes with authorities, back in court

American Samoa District Court building
ausage@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A young man from Tafuna with a long criminal history entered into a plea agreement with the government last week before District Court Judge Elvis P. Patea..

Lavea’i Olotupu, who is on probation, was initially charged with 4 misdemeanors including 2 counts of third degree assault, resisting arrest, and public peace disturbance.

However, under a plea agreement with the government, Olotupu pled guilty to public peace disturbance and the remaining charges were dismissed.

With his guilty plea, Olotupu admits that on Apr. 29, 2019 in Tafuna, he disturbed the public peace by being involved in a fight, during which he became loud and created fear to others.

Judge Patea sentenced Olotupu to 6 months (180 days) probation.

According to court records, Olotupu has been detained since his arrest and therefore has already served 125 days in prison.

The court then ordered that Olotupu be released from the TCF, however he will remain at TCF, pending a hearing to revoke his probation in the High Court this week.

During court proceedings, Olotupu apologized for what he did, saying he is remorseful and that he has learned his lesson. He also apologized to his mother and family, especially those who were affected by his actions.

The government's case states that on the day of the incident, police responded to a call from someone in the Tafuna area, requesting police assistance to a disturbance.

When the cops arrived, an unknown male, who was later identified as Olotupu, yelled profanities at the police and asked them to leave the area.

In 2017, the High Court placed Olotupu on probation for five years, after he was convicted of felony driving and resisting arrest. As a condition of his probation, he was ordered to serve 20 months in jail and remain a law abiding citizen.