MULU MALUIA JR CHARGED IN BURGLARY CASE

District Court Judge Elvis Pila Patea has set a bail of $15,000 for Mulu Maluia Jr who’s charged with first degree burglary and stealing. He made his initial appearance in court this week, and is represented by the Public Defender’s Office while prosecuting is Assistant Attorney General Robert J Pickett.

According to the government’s case, on Dec. 20, 2014, a man reported to the police allegations that the defendant broke into his residence in Nu’uuli. It's alleged that a cell phone and an iPad were stolen from the house.

Court filings say while the man was sleeping on December 19, 2014, there were volleyball players around his house. The homeowner is the coach for the American Samoa National Volleyball Team.

Two of the boys saw the defendant around the area, and it’s alleged that around 3a.m. the boys walked to a 24-hour store nearby, and on their way back they saw the same person, however, this time he was wearing different clothes and appeared to be talking on a phone. One of the boys then checked where he was sleeping to find out that his cell phone was missing, along with the iPad that belonged to the owner of the house.

The homeowner and the three boys then got in their truck and drove around to look for the defendant. Court filings say that when they spotted the defendant, one of the boys in the truck tackled him, causing the iPad and phone to break. However, the defendant managed to get away. The matter was at that time reported to the police. The homeowner said he knew the defendant from prior interactions relating to volleyball.

The burglary charge is a class B felony, punishable from five to 15 years while the stealing count is a class C felony which carries a jail term of up to seven years in jail, a fine up to $5,000 or a fine equal to twice the amount of gain from the commission of said crime up to $20,000— or both fine and imprisonment.

ANOTHER DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASE IN COURT

District Court Judge Elvis Pila Patea has issued a criminal summons for a man accused of assault on Dec. 26, 2014. The defendant appeared in court yesterday on charges of public peace disturbance and third degree assault. In the interest of protecting the victim’s identity, Samoa News will not name the defendant in this matter.

According to the government’s case, on Dec. 26, 2014 a woman reported to the police that her husband had punched her in the face in the presence of their three children, on Christmas day. It's alleged that the victim went to a movie with a friend, and when she got home, her husband asked why she didn’t answer her phone.

It's alleged that’s when the defendant began to punch his wife’s face. Court filings say she fell to the floor, and while on the floor the defendant kicked her twice. The defendant told the police that he suspected his wife was at the movies with her boyfriend. He said when he tried to contact her she did not answer and when she got home he confronted her.

The defendant told the police that his wife allegedly admitted that she did go to the movies with her boyfriend; and court filings say the defendant admitted that he got angry and punched his wife in her face and stomach.

TAITO ARRAIGNED IN HIGH COURT, DENIES CHARGES

James Taito, facing charges of second degree burglary, stealing and trespassing has denied the criminal charges against him during his arraignment in the High Court.

Defendant is accused of breaking into a home back in Dec. 2, 2014, where he allegedly took electronic items. The missing items included a Lenovo Think-pad laptop, a Mac laptop, a thumb drive, headphones, a cell phone, two iPads and a harmonica holder. All the items stolen were together valued at over $2,000.

It’s alleged the homeowner later saw that his stolen laptop was 'online' due to a software program he had installed on his laptop called Team Viewer, which allowed the owner to get the IP address and also find out that the user was watching a youtube video.

Based on the facts given, a search warrant was obtained based on the evidence provided by the owner of the stolen items, which led the officers to the defendant’s residence. The defendant admitted burglarizing the said home and then gave the officers the items that were stolen.

His pretrial conference is scheduled for next month, before Associate Justice Lyle L Richmond.