Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man from Happy Valley was arrested by police last month after a live marijuana plant was allegedly discovered behind his house. It was family members who alerted police regarding the alleged marijuana plant growing there.

Jacob Seiuli made his initial appearance in District Court last month.

Seiuli is charged with one count of unlawful possession of marijuana, an unclassified felony, punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than five nor more that ten years and a fine of not less than $5,000 nor more than $20,000, or both.

Bail is set at$10,000.

Preliminary examination is scheduled for next week.

THE CASE

On Oct. 14, 2022 around 3:25p.m the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) received multiples calls from concerned family members stating that they had seen a marijuana plant at the back of Seiuli’s house.

Several police officers responded and could plainly view what appeared to be a marijuana plant behind the defendant’s house.

A man who was standing on the road pointed out to police a person who was in front of the house as Jacob Seiuli, the owner of the house and the defendant in this matter.

Cops walked up to Seiuli who asked cops what was going on.

He was asked if police could take a look in the area behind the house and Seiuli agreed and gave cops consent to walk around his land.

Behind the house, cops observed what appeared to be a marijuana plant planted between two bananas. Photos of the questionable plant were taken and the plant was seized. A police captain asked Seiuli about the plant and he stated that he did not know who owns it.

After speaking with Seiuli, cops took him into custody and searched the scene. The search revealed a round clear container filled with green leafy substances and a small stamp-sized baggie also containing a green leafy substance.

The green leafy substance and the plant found at the scene were all tested, and yielded positive results for THC, an active ingredient in marijuana.

Seiuli was Mirandized at the TPS, and he refused to make a statement. He was then booked and later transported to TCF.

MATAESE FAAMANATU

A man accused of beating a woman was arrested and is now been charged for domestic violence, as well as possession of illegal drugs.

Mataese Faamanatu made his initial appearance in District Court last month.

He is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and methamphetamine (meth), both unclassified felonies, punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than five nor more than ten years, a fine of up to $20,000, or both, one count of felonious restraint involving domestic violence and one count of 2nd- degree assault involving domestic violence, both class C felonies, punishable by terms of imprisonment of up to seven years, a fine of $5,000 but not less than $150, or both, along with one count of 3rd- degree involving domestic violence, a class A misdemeanor, punishable by term of imprisonment of up to one year, a fine of $1,000, but not less than $150, or both.

Bail is set at $15,000

Faamanatu appeared in High Court last week for his arraignment and he waived his rights to a preliminary examination. During his arraignment, Faamanatu entered a not guilty plea to all the charges.

His pretrial conference is scheduled for next month.

THE CASE

On Oct. 11, 2022. a young woman walked into the TPS with her father to file a criminal complaint against Faamanatu for assault. The young female was later identified as the victim in this case.

According to the victim’s verbal and written statement she was beaten up over a period of several hours the night before. She stated that it all started outside of another family’s house.

Faamanatu accused her of cheating on him and he beat her up — hitting her in her face and body multiple times. After returning home, Faamanatu continued to assault her by punching her and throwing random objects at her.

The victim told investigators that Faamanatu packed his belongings and left. The man who owns the house where Faamanatu and the victim lived then in turn kicked the victim out of his house. After the victim packed her things and was trying to leave the house, she found out that all three doors of the house were locked from the outside and she couldn’t get out of the house.

Later, Faamanatu and the man who owns the house came back and Faamanatu beat her up again. The victim said Faamanatu stopped to smoke a cigarette with another person, and the victim gathered her belongings and walked out the back of the house.

Faamanatu followed the victim while continuing to accuse her of cheating on him. He then beat the victim again in front of a store in the area and he only stopped beating her up when the victim begged him to stop. Faamanatu then grabbed her hand and walked her back to the house where they had been living, while continuing to threaten and hit her.

Inside the bedroom, Faamanatu told the victim to go to sleep but the victim told Faamanatu she didn’t want to sleep. Faamanatu then hit her with a 2x4 piece of wood multiple times. He also hit her with an umbrella and punched and slapped her.

Investigators interviewed several witnesses regarding the alleged incident. They confirmed that they heard Faamanatu and the victim arguing, during the night, and heard what sounded like the victim being beaten.

One of the witnesses heard their neighbor knocking on Faamanatu’s and the victim’s door, but Faamanatu would not open the door. And when she heard what sounded like Faamanatu beating up the victim, she got up and also knocked on Faamanatu’s door — he answered the door and walked out of the house.

The witness said she then looked in the room and saw the victim on the floor crying with a 2x4 and a broom stick lying next to her.

Faamanatu was apprehended and transported to TPS for an interview. During a body search, cops found a glass pipe containing a white crystalline substance, along with a small stamp-sized baggie containing a green leafy substance inside his pocket.

Faamanatu was Mirandized and refused to make a statement. He was transported to the TCF where he was booked and detained.

MAN ACCUSED OF SEXUALLY ABUSING HIS COUSIN

A man was arrested last month on the allegation that he sexually abused his 16-year-old female cousin who lives in the same house. During his arrest, cops discovered drugs in the defendant’s possession.

The defendant, who appear in court last month for his initial appearance, is charged with one count of unlawful possession of meth, an unclassified felony, one count of felonious restraint and one count of 1st- degree sexual abuse both involving domestic violence, both class D felonies, punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to five years, a fine of up to $5,000, or both, along with endangering the welfare of a child, a class A misdemeanor.

Bail is set at $25,000 and the defendant is scheduled to appear in court next week for his preliminary examination.

According to the government’s case, police officers received a phone call from the victim’s aunt on the afternoon of Oct. 13, 2022 requesting police assistance regarding a possible sexual abuse case at her home.

The victim and her aunt were taken to the police station where they were interview regarding the matter. According to the victim’s statement, she had just finished school around 3p.m, and when she got home she changed her clothes, and her aunty instructed her to go to her cousin’s room (defendant) and wake him up to go and get water for them from the store.

The victim went to the defendant’s bedroom started to wake him up. However, the victim was shocked when the defendant grabbed her right hand and pulled her close to him. The victim tried to push the defendant away but he pulled her onto the bed and touched her inappropriately.

That is when the victim yelled out loud to the defendant to stop while at the same time, he was trying to remove the victim’s pants, after he forced the victim onto the bed.

The victim’s aunt heard the victim’s voice and went to the defendant’s room and saw him trying to pull down the victim’s pants while the victim was lying on the defendant’s bed.

The victim’s aunt yelled out to the defendant to stop and that’s when he left the room and the house.

Two days later, on Oct. 15, the defendant was apprehended and transported to the police station for questioning. During a body search, cops found a glass pipe containing a white crystalline substance inside the defendant’s left pocket.

After he was Mirandized, the defendant acknowledged that he understood his rights and wished to remain silent.

He was then processed and later transported to the TCF, where he was booked and confined.