LOIMATA MIKA

A 28-year-old man accused of breaking into the home of a woman who was asleep in her bedroom, and trying to touch her, will return to court this Friday for the continuance of his change of plea hearing.

Loimata Mika was initially charged with one felony count of first-degree burglary and two misdemeanor counts of third degree assault and trespassing. However, under a plea agreement, the government amended the burglary charge to second-degree assault — which is a lesser felony charge and the government would move to dismiss the misdemeanor charges.

Mika appeared last Friday for his change of plea hearing, where the plea agreement was announced in which the defendant admitted that in the evening of Aug. 1 of last year, he illegally entered a home and headed straight to the bed where a female was sleeping. Additionally, the defendant allegedly touched the woman in a sexual manner and she woke up screaming and yelling at the defendant to get out, which Mika did.

Under the agreement, both sides requested that the defendant be given a probative sentence, however, if a jail term is imposed, the government requests the court to order the defendant to depart the territory and remain outside of American Samoa during the probation period.

As in all cases when a plea agreement is presented, the court questioned the defendant to make sure he fully understood his rights under the law. One of the questions Chief Justice Michael Kruse asked Mika is if anyone threatened him and coerced him to plead guilty to the amended felony charge — and the defendant replied, “yes” that a person did.

And when Kruse asked Mika to provide the name of that person, Mika didn’t offer a reply. This prompted the Kruse to continue the change of plea hearing to this Friday, to allow the defendant to further discuss all provisions of the plea agreement with his attorney.

ANDREA LOGOTAEAO

The District Court has sentenced Andrea Logotaeao to 12 months probation after he pled to two misdemeanor counts of trespassing on the land of a neighboring family, and third degree assault under a plea agreement with the government.

According to court information, Logotaeao’s family got into a dispute with a neighbor, resulting in the accused going to the neighbor’s property and assaulting a male.

Prior to being sentenced, Logotaeao apologized to the court for his criminal behavior but District Court Judge Fiti A. Sunia responded that Logotaeao’s action could have resulted in a more serious matter, affecting the defendant’s life, as well as causing trouble in the neighborhood.

Among the conditions of Logotaeao’s probation is that he pay a $125 fine within 90-days of his probation, and he must maintain peace with the neighbors, be a law abiding citizen, and attend and complete anger management counseling.

MAN CAUGHT DRIVING WHILE LICENSE SUSPENDED

Despite American Samoa’s strict laws, which require mandatory 90-day jail time for a person caught driving a vehicle while his/ her driver’s license is suspended by the court, more cases continue to come before the District Court.

The latest was on Monday, where a man was caught over the weekend driving a car, despite the man’s license being suspended for 12 months, as part of a sentence more than a year ago for drunk driving.

According to local laws, a person convicted of driving a car while his/her license is suspended, is a felony punishable by up to 5 years in jail, or a fine of not more than $5,000 but there is a mandatory 90-day jail sentence.

(Original Samoan stories published in yesterday’s Lali section of Samoa News.)