Court opts for leniency despite threatening deportation in drug case
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — During the sentencing of Aukusitino Savelio who was convicted of violating local drug laws, the court told him that the only option for the court to deal with foreigners who come into American Samoa and violate territorial drug laws is to send them back to their countries, in order for the government to save local resources.
Savelio, 42, is a citizen of Samoa who has been in custody for over 12 months, unable to post a $10,000 bond.
Under a plea agreement with the government, accepted by the court, Savelio pled guilty to the amended charge of unlawful possession of meth, a class D felony, punishable by imprisonment of up to 5 years, a fine up to $5,000 or both.
Savelio admits that on Aug. 29, 2021, he unlawful possessed a glass pipe containing meth. Savelio apologized to the court, the American Samoa Government, and his family.
He requested a second chance to be released to care for his elderly mother, and also his wife and 5 young children.
“… Please give me a chance to change my life and be a better person,” he said, promising to “never deal with drugs anymore,” as well as to using the remaining days of his life wisely and “to do good things for my family and for the community.”
“I don’t want to go back to the dark days of my life. I want to go home and redeem myself,” Savelio told the court.
According to Savelio’s statement to the court, everything was good with his life ever since he came to American Samoa over 20 years ago to look for a better life. However, his life changed after he started hanging out with the wrong friends.
“I’ve learned my lesson from the 12 months that I spent behind bars and now I realize that violating the laws of the land comes with consequences in life,” Savelio said.
His defense attorney asked the court to uphold Probation’s recommendation for a probated sentence. He informed the court that Savelio’s immigration status is current and he was employed before he was arrested. He said his client has strong ties in the territory — not only was his wife born in American Samoa, his five young children were also born here.
The government’s attorney supported the defense attorney’s argument, saying the government believes the defendant is a suitable candidate for a probated sentence.
The court stated that according to Probation, Savelio is a citizen of Samoa who has been in the territory for a long time.
“In cases like this, the only option for the court to deal with foreigners who come into American Samoa and violate local drug laws is to send them back to their countries, in order for our government to save local resources,” the court said, adding that “the court will hold off with our deportation authority for this case — at this time.”
Savelio was sentenced to 5 years in jail and a $5,000 fine.
Execution of the sentence was suspended, and he was placed on 5 years of probation on the condition that he serve 20 months at the TCF and remain alcohol and drug free.
All but 12 months of detention was stayed until further order of the court. Savelio was released from custody after he was sentenced last week. He is ordered to pay a fine of $3,000 and attend and complete a drug counseling program.
The court strongly advised Savelio that if he failed to abide with any of the conditions of his probation, there will be no second discussion between him and the court. He would be arrested and transported straight to the Territorial Correctional Facility (TCF) to serve the remaining of his probation.
RECAP OF THE FACTS
According to the court, the defendant was arrested Aug. 29, 2021 when police discovered a small quantity of meth on him. Police arrested Savelio for a public peace disturbance, and that’s what triggered a search of the defendant.
On Sept. 30, 2021, Savelio was released from confinement with conditions after he posted a $3,000 bond.
Less than 2 months later in Nov. 16 of 2021, Savelio was re-arrested for a public peace case in Petesa, after he and another male were involved in a fight in front of a store in the Petesa area.
Eyewitnesses told police that it was Savelio who started the fight after he took money belonging to another man. The man told Savelio to give back his money but Savelio refused. The man then punched Savelio and a fight started.
Both Savelio and the male were arrested and taken into custody.
Savelio was convicted in District Court for public peace disturbance and was sentenced to 65 days at the TCF.
He appeared in High Court for a Status Hearing after his initial appearance in District Court for his new case. During that hearing, the court did not revoke his release on bond; instead, it increased his bond from $3,000 to $10,000, cash only.
Savelio has been in custody ever since, unable to post the new bond amount.