Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man with a stealing conviction told police after he was arrested and Mirandized last month for allegedly breaking into two homes in Fogagogo that he knew nothing about the burglaries.

When police arrested the suspect pursuant to an arrest warrant from the court, officers discovered illegal drugs in his possession.

Keresoma Tanielu made his initial appearance in court last month.

Tanielu, 35, is charged in two separate cases.

In the first case, Tanielu is charged with two counts of 1st- degree burglary; two counts of 2nd- degree stealing, both class C felonies, punishable by imprisonment of up to 7 years, a $5,000 fine or pursuant to A.S.C.A 46.2101, a fine equal to twice the amount of gain from the commission of said crime, up to a maximum of $20,000, or both such fine and imprisonment for each count.

In the second case, Tanielu is charged with one count of unlawful possession of meth and one count of unlawful possession of marijuana, both unclassified felonies, punishable by imprisonment from 5-10 years, a fine of up to $20,000, or both; along with one count of public peace disturbance, a misdemeanor.

Bail is set at $15,000.

If he posts bond, Tanielu is ordered to remain law abiding, not leave or attempt to leave the territory without the court’s permission, and not make any direct or indirect contact with the government’s witnesses, including the victims.

THE CASE

The matter surfaced after police received a complaint from two Fogagogo families regarding their homes being burglarized by unknown people while they were away from home.

According to the government’s case, the first home was allegedly burglarized on the night of Aug. 23, 2022; while the second home was burglarized four days after the first incident, which was Aug. 27.

The first victim told police that they were at their aunt’s home in Pago Pago when the alleged burglary took place. When they returned to their house on the next morning, Aug. 24, with her children, she observed that the side window was damaged and a few clothes were scattered on the ground. Inside, personal belongings including her daughter’s laptop and some fine mats were gone.

While police were still investigating the first alleged burglary, the second family reported the second burglary, that occurred at night, while they were attending a family birthday party, in Nu’uuli.

The family said it looked like the people who allegedly committed the crime gained entrance from the back door and the house was ransacked.

One week into the investigation of the two burglaries, a young female contacted her aunt, who is a police officer and relayed some essential information that led to the arrest of the suspect in this case.

The young female was identified as the ex-girlfriend of the suspect and she is now the keywitness in this case.

According to the witness, she dated Dan (Tanielu) for 6 months. On the night of Tanielu’s birthday, which was Aug. 30, Tanielu told the witness that he and his two friends burglarized two homes in Fogagogo and stole several items from inside both houses. They kept some of the belongings for themselves while the powers tools were sold to another man for money. They then used the money to buy drugs from a man named Willie in Taputimu.

According to the witness’s statement to police, Tanielu then gave her a pair of gold earrings, which she kept inside her closet. The victim returned the gold earrings to police and it was later confirmed by the first victim that the gold earrings belonged to her.

Investigators visited the suspect’s home in an effort to speak to him regarding the matter but he was not there.

However, last month, police caught another lucky break.

Responding to a public peace disturbance in Tafeta, where two men were making unreasonable noises in front of a home, police arrived and apprehended only one man from the scene. The man was later identified as Keresoma Tanielu, the defendant in this matter.

A body search for weapons and drugs during the arrest, netted a small stamp- sized baggie containing a white crystalline substance inside the defendant’s right pocket. A hand rolled marijuana joint was also found.

At the TPS, Tanielu was Mirandized and the defendant told police that he wished to make a statement. Tanielu strongly denied the allegation against him, saying that he did not know anything about the burglary of two homes in Fogagogo.

When asked about the drugs found in his possession, Tanielu decided to remain silent and did not want to offer a statement about the drugs to investigators.