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Young man arrested for attempted burglary told police he was looking for somewhere to sleep

American Samoa District Court building
ausage@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A 23-year-old man from Laulii who attempted to burglarize a home was arrested Friday night.

Tie Lomon made his initial appearance before District Court Judge Fiti Sunia yesterday morning, where he entered a 'not guilty' plea to attempted burglary and public peace disturbance, both class A misdemeanors.

Lomon, who owes $450 to the court for unpaid traffic fines, was released on his own recognizance by Judge Sunia under certain conditions.

He is not to set foot in the home of the victim, nor is he to attempt to contact any of the government’s witnesses. He is also ordered not to consume any alcohol while his case is pending.

The government claims that it was around 11:15pm last Friday night, Oct. 5, 2018 when the DPS Central Station received a phone call from a concerned citizen, regarding a possible break-in at his residence in Lauli’i.

When police arrived, the victim told them that when he went to check the back of the house, which is close to the mountain side, he observed the defendant under the eaves of the home, which was sealed by an ie lavalava.

Furthermore, he noticed that the screen-wire for the back window was torn and the louvers had been removed. That's when police were contacted.

Police arrested Lomon while he was inside a store in the village.

He was escorted to the DPS Central Police Station for questioning.

According to court documents, during the ride to Fagatogo, police could detect a strong odor of alcohol emitting from the defendant.

Lomon told police that his uncle kicked him out of the house, he was just looking for a place to sleep for the night.