Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A young man accused of burglarizing a home in Ottoville and stealing a cell phone; laptop; an iPad and a wallet with over $600 inside it is now in custody after police officers arrested him two weeks ago pursuant to an arrest warrant signed by the court.

The defendant, Tony Laulu, along with his cousin, a juvenile who is identified in the court affidavit as A.T are the two individuals allegedly involved in this case.

On Nov. 22, 2020 around 7a.m, a man who identified himself to police as Eddie Finauga, the victim in this case, called the Tafuna Police Substation and requested police assistance immediately at his house, which was allegedly burglarized by two young males, who stole several items including his money.

Several police officers responded to the call and Finauga was interviewed at the scene where he stated to officers that his house had been burglarized in the morning and he described items that were missing, including his wallet containing $650 that was on the table inside his bed room. He further stated that a person named A.T, a juvenile, told him that he and his cousin by the name of Tony Laulu (defendant) allegedly burglarized his house.

According to Finauga’s statement to police, when he returned to his house around 7a.m, he found it had been broken into and items stolen. He said a couple walking on the road at the time, told him that they saw two adult males with a juvenile male exit the house carrying some items. The couple also mentioned Tony Laulu’s name to Finauga because they knew Laulu’s house and parents.

Investigators proceeded to Laulu’s home to question him regarding the alleged burglary. Laulu told them that he and A.T were hanging out in front of A.T’s house on the night of Nov. 21st when A.T laid out a plan to burglarize Finauga’s home.

They both agreed with the plan and waited until the next morning when Finauga left to drop his girlfriend off at work, so that they could go to the house and execute their plan. They did so the next morning (Nov. 22) — breaking in through the back door, with A.T. entering, while Finauga acted as a lookout.

Laulu told investigators that a few moments after A.T entered the house, he came back and told him what he had seen. Laulu instructed A.T to go back in and get the items, which he did. They then proceeded home.

Laulu told investigators that A.T took both the cell phone and the iPad while he took the laptop. He also gave A.T $100 and kept the rest of the money.

However, when investigators interviewed A.T in the presence of his parents, he told investigators that Laulu only gave him $100 but took all of the stolen items.

A.T told investigators that it was Laulu who initiated the plan to burglarize Finauga’s home after he (Laulu) stated that he needed money to buy drugs and beer. He admitted that he (A.T) entered the house while Laulu acted as a lookout.

A.T further told investigators about meeting up with Finauga on the early morning of the day of the incident, Nov. 22, when Finauga came up to him and asked him if he could help load his shopping onto his vehicle.

He agreed and went with Finauga to a nearby store for shopping before they headed back to Finauga’s house to unload the items. After unloading the items, Finauga invited A.T inside for a cup of coffee.

Once he got inside Finauga’s house, Finauga started asking A.T about the incident where he and Laulu broke into his house. While A.T was trying to explain his side of the story, Finauga started throwing punches at his face about 6 times while he was still sitting in the chair inside the living room. He told the victim that it was Laulu (defendant) who burglarized his home.

Both Laulu and A.T were taken to the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) for questioning. Before he was taken into custody, Laulu was patted down and police discovered a small stamp-sized baggie containing white crystalline substance inside his pants pocket, along with two stamp sized baggies containing green leafy substance inside his rear pocket.

Nothing was found on the juvenile.

When asked about the illegal drugs found in his possession, Laulu told police that the illegal drugs belonged to him. He bought the drugs from a man who is selling drugs in the area, known by the name of “Dice”.

Laulu apologized to the police for his actions and stated that the reason he instructed his juvenile cousin to break into their neighbor’s house was to get money or anything they could sell to buy drugs.

A.T was later taken to the LBJ Medical Hospital for treatment.

The victim in this case, Finauga was also arrested and charged in a separate case after A.T’s mother filed a complaint against him for allegedly assaulting A.T.

Laulu made his initial appearance in court last month.

The government has filed 2 separate cases against Laulu.

In the first case, Laulu is charged with one count of 2nd degree burglary and one count of 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 crime.

In the second case, Laulu is charged with one count of unlawful possession of methamphetamine and one count of marijuana possession, both unclassified felonies, punishable by imprisonment from 5-10 years, a fine of $30,000 or both.

Bail is set at $10,000.