Pago Pago, AMERICA SAMOA — A man who refused to allow his girlfriend to leave his home in Nu’uuli in the middle of their argument was arrested by police last month and later charged after his girlfriend contacted police for assistance.

Teejaye Maifea made his initial appearance in District Court last week before Judge Gwen Tauiliili-Langkilde.

Maifea is charged with one count of felonious restraint involving domestic violence, a class D felony, punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to five years, a fine of up to $5,000, or both, along with one count of 3rd-degree assault, a class A misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment of up to one year, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.

Bail is set at $5,000.

During his preliminary election last Thursday, Maifa waived his right to a preliminary examination (PX) and his case was bound over to High Court where he’s expected to appear tomorrow morning for arraignment.

THE CASE

At about 6:24pm on Feb. 24, 2022, a female contacted Police headquarters in Fagatogo for assistance after her boyfriend blocked her from packing her stuff and leaving his house.

Police at the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) were informed about the matter and several officers responded to the call at a Nu’uuli residence and observed upon arrival a male and a female arguing outside the house while the female individual was also on the phone crying.

The woman was later identified as the victim while the man was later identified as Maifea, the defendant in this matter.

The victim told investigators that she was packing her stuff to leave from her boyfriend Maifea’s residence but he refused to let her go. She stated that she got into a verbal argument with Maifea on their way home from the store. When they got home, Maifea continued arguing with her and when she went in the house to grab her belongings so she could leave for her grandfather’s house in Vaitogi to cool off, Maifea prevented her from leaving.

He first blocked the door and when she walked towards the bedroom to try and escape Maifea followed her. As she tried to exit from the bedroom window, Maifea wrapped his arms around her neck and pulled her back and scraped her elbow then pushed her and caused her to hit her head against the wall.

The victim also stated to investigators that Maifea grabbed a footstool and broke it next to her, that’s when she called the police station for assistance.

When investigators asked if she needed medical attention, she said no.

Maifea was arrested at the scene and was later transported to the TPS for further investigation. He was Mirandized and he said he understood and agreed to discuss the matter at hand with investigators.

According to Maifea’s verbal statement to investigators, they had a conversation about the COVID-19 symptoms, and he mentioned what he had witnessed when he was off island. Maifea stated when they got home, his girlfriend got out of the car and slammed the door. He got out of the car and yelled at his girlfriend to “stop slamming his shit”.

He further stated that his girlfriend went into the house and grabbed her stuff then he tried to calm her down, but she was still arguing trying to jump out of the window. He then pulled her back inside and tried to hold her back to calm her down.

According to Maifea, he did not want his girlfriend to leave the house because he did not want her screaming. He stated that every time they argued his girlfriend always started screaming and alarms his family.

Maifea was later transported to the Territorial Correctional Facility (TCF) where he was booked and confined.