Ads by Google Ads by Google

Suspect in alleged assault says he did it because the victim had left his aunt for another woman

American Samoa District Court building
ausage@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Falanisisi Poumaleifanua is now in custody after being arrested last month on the allegation he assaulted a man with a knife. During his arrest, officers found illegal drugs in his possession.

According to the government’s case, it was around 6:37 p.m on Mar. 21, 2022 when police at the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) received a call from a female, saying that her boyfriend’s stepfather had been assaulted and was being taken to the LBJ Hospital by a couple’s vehicle for treatment.

The caller further told police that the victim sustained big lacerations on his head, back and shoulder, and needed immediate medical attention.

Several police officers responded to the call and investigators interviewed the reporter, who informed them that the victim was allegedly assaulted by a man who is related to the victim’s ex-girlfriend with whom he was talking at the time. The reporter said that the suspect was intoxicated during the time of the alleged assault.

Investigators learned that the victim’s ex-girlfriend is the aunt of the suspect in this matter, and the victim was allegedly assaulted while he was speaking to his ex-girlfriend outside the suspect’s house. The victim’s ex-girlfriend was at her sister’s (suspect’s mother) house when she contacted the victim to come over to discuss issues regarding their daughter’s graduation next month.

Investigators were unable to locate the suspect and a request was made to his family to bring him to the TPS for an interview regarding the alleged incident.

As investigators were looking for an eyewitness, a friend of the victim’s son told investigators that according to the victim he was outside of the house with his ex-girlfriend discussing issues regarding their daughter’s graduation next month when the alleged assault took place.

Investigators also brought the ex-girlfriend in for an interview.

The ex-girlfriend told investigators that she was not present when her nephew (suspect) allegedly stabbed the victim outside in the parking lot. All she knew was that she and the victim, who is the father of her four children, were shocked when her nephew (suspect) approached them while standing outside in the parking lot and immediately got into a fight with the victim.

According to the witness, she tried hard to stop the fight but it got out of hand and that’s when she ran inside the house looking for her sister for help. Her sister (suspect’s mother) was taking a shower at the time and she was unable to hear anything happening outside.

The victim’s ex-girlfriend ran back to the location where the suspect and the victim were fighting and found out that her nephew (suspect) had already fled the location and the victim was standing at the back of the house bleeding from his head, back and shoulder.

Four days after the alleged incident when the victim was discharged from the LBJ Hospital, investigators spoke to him about the incident. The victim’s statement confirmed what the ex-girlfriend had related to police. He described the alleged assault, saying the suspect walked over to him and told him to get out of the area or he would kill him. He tried to push the suspect away so that he could get away from him but he was shocked when the suspect pulled out a knife from his pocket.

That was when the suspect punched him in the eye before stabbing his back, his shoulder and then his head, before he fled the area.

According to the victim, after the fourth stab he was able to get himself away from the suspect and he ran to the back of the house. His ex-girlfriend followed him and told him to come inside, but he asked her to go to the front side of the house to get his phone.

As he was standing at the back of the house, his son’s girlfriend pulled up and saw what had happened, and she then called the police.

Investigators arrested the suspect at his friend’s home three weeks after the alleged incident, pursuant to an arrest warrant and took him to the TPS for questioning.

The suspect was searched, as per norm, prior to being transported, and during the body search, investigators found a glass pipe in his left pocket containing meth. Also found inside his left pocket was a small stamp-sized baggie containing green leafy substance, which later tested positive for THC, the active compound in marijuana.

The suspect told investigators that he had just arrived home when he learned from his younger brother that the victim was talking to his aunt outside the house in the parking lot. He felt anger inside his heart because the victim had abused his aunt before he left her and her children for another woman. He walked to his shack, grabbed a pocketknife and put it inside his pocket. His only plan was to hurt the victim for what he had done to his family.

He then walked outside and approached the victim and asked him why he had set foot on the land before he punched him in the face. The victim punched him back and then they fought for a while before he pulled out the knife from his pants pocket and stabbed him in the head, back and shoulder.

The suspect told investigators he also sustained head injuries when the victim struck his head with a piece of wood.

When asked about the illegal drugs found in his possession, the suspect stated that the stuff belonged to him. He refused to reveal more information regarding the illegal drugs to investigators.

During the interview, investigators discovered that the suspect had an active arrest warrant in his name from last year for burglarizing a home in the area.

THE BURGLARY AND STEALING CASE

The government alleges that on Feb. 27, 2021, a woman contacted the TPS asking for police assistance after she discovered that someone burglarized her daughter’s house and took several items from inside.

The woman further told police that there were two eyewitnesses who saw a man named Francis allegedly walking around the area on the night of the incident.

Francis was identified as Falanisisi Poumaleifanua, the defendant in this matter; while the woman who reported the matter was later identified as the victim in this case.

The victim stated to police that her daughter’s house located behind her house, had been burglarized. Her daughter is currently off-island for medical treatment and there is no one living in the house.

Around midnight on Feb. 27, she heard a loud bang coming from inside the house. So the following morning around 6am, she decided to check on the house and found out that the screen wire at the back room was cut and four louvers were removed to gain entry inside the house.

She quickly opened the house and discovered that some items were missing.

Police questioned two males, who were neighbors, and they confirmed that they saw Falanisisi walk away from the house around 11p.m. on the previous night carrying a big black bag.

Poumaleifanua made his initial appearance in court last month where his bail was set at $10,000. The government filed two separate cases against him.

In the first case he is charged with one count of unlawful possession of marijuana and one count of unlawful possession of meth, both unclassified felonies, punishable by imprisonment between 5-10 years, a fine of up to $20,000, or both, along with one count of second-degree assault, a class D felony, punishable by imprisonment of up to 5 years, a fine of up to $5,000 or both, and 3rd degree property damage, a class A misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment of up to one year, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.

In the second case, he is charged with stealing, a class C felony, punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to 7 years, a $5,000 fine or pursuant to A.S.C.A 46.2101, a fine equal to twice the amount of gain from the commission of said crime, up to a maximum of $20,000, or both such fine and imprisonment.

Preliminary examination is scheduled for next week.