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Alleged assault leaves victim with eyelids swollen and blood covering his face

AMERICAN SAMOA DISTRICT COURT
reporters@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On October 27, 2024, a victim and his mother walked into Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) to report an alleged assault by Telea Senetuki.

The defendant later admitted to the assault and was charged with:

Count 1: Assault in the Second Degree, a class D felony punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to five years, a fine of up to $5,000, or both imprisonment and fine.

The defendant’s bail was set at $30,000.

According to the affidavit, on October 27th, at around 4:00 p.m., a victim of an alleged assault walked into the TPS with his mother to file a report against Telea Senetuki.

The authorities assisted the victim and called the ambulance to treat the victim before interviewing him at the TPS.

Both the victim’s eyelids were swollen, his left eye had a minor laceration covering his face with his blood from the assault. The victim had two lumps on his forehead and the inside of his bottom lip was cut.

Upon interviewing the victim, he verbally stated that he was at church when he saw the suspect. The suspect nodded his head and he didn’t do anything. It was when he went to use the latrine, the suspect approached him inside and punched him in the face causing him to fall and hit his head on the sink. He then fell down and was unconscious for a few seconds while the suspect continued to punch him in the face several times and kicked his stomach and face. The suspect then left him lying on the floor inside the bathroom.

He then got up and went to his mom and that’s when they walked into the TPS to file a report.

The officers proceeded to locate the suspect where he resides. The suspect was apprehended and placed in the police unit to be transported to the TPS for further investigation and processing.

The suspect was Mirandized where he waived his rights and offered a verbal and written statement regarding what happened.

According to the suspect, the victim called out his name and nodded his head from a distance. He stated he didn’t do anything until he saw the victim going to the latrine where he then followed him there.

He then punched the victim in the face once and the victim fell and hit his head on the sink. He recalled the victim was knocked out while he was punching him. He also recalled punching the victim more than 10 times and kicking him once in his face and once in his stomach.

The suspect stated that he was stopped by an individual, and he then left to go home.

The suspect was booked and confined at the Tafuna Correctional Facility to await the next sitting of the District Court.

The defendant is identified as a 20-year-old U.S National.