Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA —  A man accused of violating local drug laws has asked the court to set his matter for trial. Upuese Aleki who had been in custody since his arrest last year, unable to post a $5,000 surety bond, appeared in court two weeks ago for his pretrial conference.

When his case was called, his defense attorney, Ryan Anderson informed the court that they received discovery and an offer from the government, however, after reviewing it, his client wishes to exercise his rights to a jury trial.

The court accepted the defense’s request for a trial, however, the court also informed the defense that due to the COVID-19 restrictions, there are other options they must consider such as a bench trial instead of jury trial.

Aleki is charged with one count of unlawful possession of methamphetamine (meth), a felony, punishable by imprisonment of not less than five nor more than 10 years, a fine of not less than $5,000 nor more than $20,000, or both.

The charge against Aleki stems from an incident when police arrested him and another man for disturbing the public peace. During a pat down, a small baggie containing meth was found on him by police.

When asked about the drugs allegedly found in his possession, Aleki told officers that it was a gift from a friend.

THREE OCCUPANTS OF VEHICLE ARRESTED AND CHARGED

All three occupants of a brown pickup pulled over by police last month were arrested and charged after drugs were discovered in the vehicle. They were Chaun Maiava — the driver — and Pele Iuta and Lagi Wright — passengers.

All three defendants are each charged with one count of unlawful possession methamphetamine (meth) and one count of unlawful possession of meth with the intent to distribute, both felonies, punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than five years, nor more than twenty years, a fine up to $20,000, or both.

Wright is also charged with one count of prohibited place of consumption, a class A misdemeanor.

Bail for each of the three is set at $15,000.

THE CASE

On June 27, 2021 at about 12a.m, Vice and Narcotics Unit (VNU) were called to a matter at the Leone Police Substation (LPS) where patrol officers stopped a vehicle and later discovered drugs. Detectives from the VNU responded to the LPS to investigate the matter.

Detectives arrived at the LPS and met up with patrol officers who initiated the traffic stop and they were interviewed by detectives from the VNU regarding the alleged incident.

One of the traffic officers told investigators that they stopped a brown pickup near the LPS with a nontransparent material upon the rear windows. As they approached the vehicle, they noticed two unopened margarita beer cans between the driver and the front passenger.

As they chatted with the driver, they heard a female voice in the back seat. The officer then instructed the driver to roll down the back windows. As the driver rolled down the back windows, officers observed an open margarita beer container near the female passenger.

The officer then instructed the female passenger to exit the vehicle. Upon exiting the vehicle, officers confiscated the open margarita beer can and observed a stamp sized baggie containing white crystalline substance underneath the front passenger. Officers then detained all three individuals and escorted them to the substation for further investigation.

The female passenger was later identified as Lagi Wright, a co-defendant in this matter. The driver was identified as Chaun Mai’ava, also a co-defendant, and the passenger was identified as Pele Iuta, the third co-defendant.

While at the LPS, Wright was booked for possession of an unsealed container of alcohol in a moving vehicle; and upon a body pat down, officers discovered a small black pouch inside her bra. Discovered inside the black pouch were a glass pipe, commonly used to smoke meth, a medium simoi baggie containing several small stamp sized baggies (15-count), medium plastic baggies containing white crystalline substance, as well as $70 cash.

Upon detaining Iuta, officers observed him with an army backpack. Further investigation into the backpack disclosed a small clear container containing 11 small stamp size baggies, 5 empty and 6 filled with white crystalline substance, and $14 cash.

Also found was a bag of straws and a propane torch. When asked who it belonged to, Iuta said that it was Maiava’s backpack given to him when they were pulled over.

A search of the vehicle was conducted by investigators at the LPS who later discovered a glass pipe containing a usable amount of white crystalline substance inside and a small stamp sized baggie filled with the crystalline substance inside a compartment near the driver. When asked about the items, Maiava informed investigators that it was Iuta’s, but was given to him when they were stopped by police.

Iuta, Wright and Maiava were all Mirandized and they informed the police they wished to remain remain silent. All three were later booked and transported to the Territorial Correctional Facility (TCF) and confined.

Testing of the white crystalline substance was conducted by senior detectives of the VNU and it yielded positive results for meth.

VILI FAASEGA

The driver of a vehicle pulled over by police last month for a traffic violation was arrested and charged for violating local drug laws.

Vili Faasega made his initial appearance in court last month.

He is charged with one count of unlawful possession of methamphetamine (meth) and one count of unlawful possession of marijuana, both felonies.

Bail is set at $10,000.

The government alleges that on June 23, 2021 about 10:20p.m, two police officers patrolling the Iliili public highway pulled over a red SUV for speeding and the driver was also not wearing a seatbelt.

Officers approached the driver and informed him why he was stopped. The driver of the vehicle was later identified as Vili Faasega, the defendant in this case.

Upon speaking with the defendant, the officer observed that the defendant had a red face and bloodshot eyes.

The officer then asked the man if he had been drinking and the defendant responded that he only had two large bottles of beer and he had finished them an hour prior to the vehicle stop. The driver further told police that he didn’t want to do a field sobriety because he believed that he would fail the test.

Police informed Faasega that his vehicle would be impounded and he was also under arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI).

Before the defendant and his vehicle were transported to the Tafuna Police Substation for further investigation, police conducted a body search. During the search, police found a glass pipe containing white crystalline substance in the defendant’s right pocket.

An inventory search was conducted on the vehicle where police found one hand rolled marijuana joint under the driver’s seat.

When questioned about the illegal drugs found in his possession and also inside his vehicle, Faasega told police that the illegal drugs belonged to him. He told police that he got the glass pipe and one marijuana joint from a friend during a drinking session at his friend’s house.

ANIPALE MALAEOLA

A father of five convicted of unlawful possession of illegal drugs was released from the Territorial Correctional Facility (TCF) for 90 days to seek and secure gainful employment.

If Anipale Malaeola is unable to secure gainful employment, the court ordered him to report back to the TCF to serve the remaining balance of his period of detention.

Malaeola, who had been in custody unable to post a $5,000 surety bond appeared in court two weeks ago for sentencing.

When given the chance to address the court, Malaeola apologized for his actions and begged the court for a second chance to return home to provide for his family especially his wife and five young children.

He told the court that he’s truly remorseful and he had learned his lesson while living in jail for 6 months.

The defense attorney asked the court for a probated sentence without any additional period of detention. Prosecutor Garvey seconded the defense’s request and asked the court to adopt the recommendation by the Probation office through the Pre Sentence Report (PSR).

After considering mitigating factors from both parties, along with the defendant’s statement, the court sentenced Malaeola to 5 years imprisonment and a fine of $2,000. Execution of the sentence was suspended and he was placed on probation for 5 years subject to several conditions.

He shall undertake a period of detention of 20 months without any release unless for a genuine medical reason or by order of the court. Execution of detention is as follows: Malaeola shall serve 9 months forthwith, credited for the time he served while awaiting the outcome of his matter.

The defendant shall be released for a period of 90 days in which time he shall secure and seek gainful employment. Defendant was told that for sure the cannery is hiring and he must remember that family farming is not considered gainful employment.

If Malaeola is unable to secure gainful employment, the court ordered him to report back to the TCF and serve the rest of his detention. The court also ordered him to make sure to pay his $2,000 fine.

In addition, he is subject to the usual probation restrictions, including not consuming nor possessing alcohol or illegal drugs; and he must submit himself for testing to make sure he’s in compliance with the stay clean order.

If he’s going to report back to the TCF to serve the balance of his detention, Malaeola is not to be considered by the Warden as a trustee.

The court further ordered that Malaeola make sure to comply with all the traffic laws. The court stated that recently, the defendant was cited by police for having too many lights on his vehicle. He was told by the court that non compliance with any of the traffic rules would be considered as a violation of conditions of his probation.