Court Report
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A woman in Kokoland called the police station on July 13, 2023 at 12:23 PM claiming that Tavita Robertson had assaulted her and she had sustained injuries after being punched three times by the defendant.
Responding officers arrived on the scene and met with the victim and an eyewitness — both briefed officers on the alleged altercation.
The woman began her police statement by saying she was trying to make her way inside the shack, but Robertson was standing in the way blocking the entrance.
As a result, “she pushed him back to make her way inside, but Robertson wrapped his arm around her neck, nearly suffocating her.
“She then bit him in the arm, and he in turn punched her three times in the eye, resulting in a swollen eye for the victim.”
According to the eyewitness, the woman told Robertson “not to touch the flour that was in the shack because it was to make their dinner for the night.”
She then went into the house to grab something, and upon returning saw Robertson making pancakes from the flour she told him not to touch.
The woman scolded him for using the flour and that’s when Robertson allegedly wrapped his arm around her and choked her. The eyewitness further stated that Robertson punched the victim in the face three times and that’s when the eyewitness got her husband to come and separate them.
After interviewing all parties present at the scene, officers apprehended Robertson and transported him to the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS), while the victim was transported to LBJ hospital for treatment.
Robertson was Mirandized and provided a statement.
According to Robertson, he grabbed the flour to make pancakes, and at that time, the victim came up to him and pushed him. That’s when he retaliated by grabbing her and putting her in a chokehold, the victim then bit him, causing him to punch her.
Robertson was booked and confined at the Tafuna Correctional Facility (TCF) and had an initial court appearance on July 14, 2023.
He is charged with assault in the first degree and private peace disturbance.
Bail is set at $300.
SOCIAL SERVICES CLIENT FILES POLICE REPORT
Social Service workers brought a woman into the TPS last Tuesday after she requested to file a police report against her husband. Samoa News will not name the defendant in order to protect the victim in this case.
According to the wife, in one instance, she told her husband something and he became upset and said to her to “not talk back to him because he’ll cut her head off with a machete” and that he would “pull her throat out”. The victim further alleged that her husband would threaten her in the presence of their children in addition to threatening their children as well.
The woman reported that this was not the first time this has happened and that her husband has been arrested twice for assaulting her and her children. The husband was released from jail as recently as last year.
One of the children confirmed that his father threatened his mother with “cutting her head off with a machete”, and that his father would also threaten him and his siblings, as well as their mother.
Responding officers arrived at the residence in Fagaima and met with the man and asked him to come to the station with them, and he complied.
On the evening of July 11, 2023, the husband was Mirandized but refused to make a statement or answer any questions. The defendant was then booked and transported to TCF.
In his initial court appearance, he was charged with private peace disturbance and assault in the third degree.
Bail is set at $600.
PPD ARREST IN NU’UULI
Last week Wednesday in Nu’uuli, the TPS received a report at 1:03 PM that an individual, later identified as Tuivale Fa’ivae, was throwing beer bottles near the Nu’uuli public highway and was yelling profanities. When officers arrived at the scene, Fa’ivae was nowhere to be found.
Then at 1:59 PM, a woman called TPS and reported that the same individual came to their house and started yelling profanities, waking her and her family up. The woman then exited her house and approached Fa’ivae and told him to leave the premises, she attempted this three times and every time, he would return.
At the third attempt, Fa’ivae then held his fist on his chest and said to the woman, “E kasi lo’u ku’i ia oe e oki”, (Just one of my punches will kill you), which then prompted the woman to call the police station.
When officers arrived at the house in Nu’uuli, they immediately apprehended Fa’ivae, and transported him to the TPS, where he was Mirandized and then booked into TCF.
During his apprehension, officers allegedly detected a strong odor of alcohol from his person.
In his initial court appearance last week Friday, Fa’ivae was charged with 2 counts — one count for public peace disturbance and one for private peace disturbance.
His bail is set at $300.