Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On April 20, 2025, an individual in distress called the Leone Police Substation (LPS) and reported an alleged domestic dispute.

The suspect was later arrested and charged with: Count 1: Assault in the Third Degree (DV), a class A misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to one year, a fine of $1,000., or both; and,

Count 2: Private Peace Disturbance (DV), a class C misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to fifteen days, a fine of $300, or both.

The defendant’s bail was set at $500.

According to the court affidavit, on Apr. 20th, at around midnight, LPS received a distress call from an individual (later identified as the reporter) claiming a man was allegedly assaulting his girlfriend.

Police officers were dispatched to the call and upon arrival at the scene, they met up with the reporter and the victim. The victim briefed the officers about the incident.

According to the victim, she was sleeping when the suspect, later identified as Fagatua Tuafale, tried to wake her up, and when she didn’t wake up, the suspect punched her twice on her thighs.

At that point, she woke up and started arguing with the suspect. The suspect then swung at her and missed causing him to punch the wall.

She called out to her sister, who came and opened the door to her and the suspect’s room. When the sister opened the door, the suspect stood up and left the room to go outside the house, where he stood and started yelling out profanities at the victim and her sister.

The suspect was apprehended and placed inside the police unit to be transported to the LPS for further investigation.

At the LPS, Tuafale was Mirandized to which he understood and agreed to provide a verbal statement about the incident.

The suspect verbally stated that he was triggered by the sounds of his children’s cries while the victim was still sleeping. He tried waking the victim up to cater to the kids but she continued to sleep. He then punched her.

The suspect also stated that the reason why he yelled out profanities was because the victim’s sister opened the door of their room and she wasn’t supposed to.

The affidavit also noted that the suspect and the victim aren’t married and they’ve been in a relationship for about six months. The children mentioned are the victim’s children.

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

The defendant is identified as a 29-year-old citizen of Samoa.