Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Two intoxicated men were arrested last month on the allegation that one of them feloniously restrained the victim while the other attempted to rape her. The two men are Loma Tagaloa and Maalona Sale.

On Nov. 15th, 2020 at approximately 9:08p.m, an elderly woman contacted the Tafuna Police Station (TPS) reporting two men were beating up another male individual in front of an Asian store in the Tafuna area not far away from her house.

The elderly woman further told police that the two men who beat up the man are the male cousins of a young girl who was the victim of an attempted rape and possible kidnapping during a drinking session in which the male who was beaten up was involved.

Several police officers responded to the call and met up with the old women, who pointed out to police officers the location of the alleged incident.

Officers saw two male individuals holding a man down to stop him from escaping while another man was on the ground unconscious, not far away from the scene.

Officers acted very quickly in an effort to control the situation and at the same time offered assistance to the male individual who was unconscious. The unconscious man was later identified as one of the men involved in the drinking session with the two defendants.

The two suspects/ defendants however had already fled the scene.

The two men still on the scene were very intoxicated and unable to answer questions from officers regarding the alleged incident, and were both transported to their homes before officers headed back to the scene to locate any witnesses who could offer any information regarding the incident.

According to the victim’s mother, she told police that her daughter was allegedly sexually assaulted by two intoxicated men. The mother further stated to police that one of her other daughters (victim’s sister) was present when the alleged incident took place. Police interviewed the victim’s sister.

The victim’s sister told police that she and her female cousin went to look for her sister and when they arrived at the corner of the store, she heard the victim crying and calling for help at the same time. The victim was at the drinking session with four men, including the two defendants.

 The victim’s sister stated that she immediately ran towards the victim and observed Tagaloa standing behind the victim grabbing her and holding her down on the ground while Sale forcibly tore off the victim’s jeans and attempted to rape and kiss her.

The victim’s sister stated that it was at that time when her female cousin immediately took action and defended the victim by punching Sale in his face, while she (victim’s sister) assisted her female cousin by grabbing Sale and scuffing him to the ground but Sale kept fighting back.

At the same time, the victim’s sister was calling out to her aunt’s house for help — where her two male cousins were hanging out.

The victim’s sister told police that her two male cousins arrived and assaulted the two men who had sexually assaulted her sister while she took her sister home and at the same time called 911 for help.

The victim’s sister told police that the victim has mental issues.

The two defendants fled the area leaving the other two men behind; so when the victim’s two male cousins arrived they did not find the two defendants, but then turned around and assaulted the two other men who were at the drinking scene.

Officers interviewed the victim regarding the alleged incident. They observed the victim was sitting on the ground, and her pants had been ripped apart. The victim was scared and also traumatized by the way she was acting when police tried to approach her.

The victim was taken to the LBJ Hospital for assistance by EMS personnel before she was transported back to the TPS for questioning.

On the same night, four police officers proceeded to the area in an effort to locate the two suspects and was aided by a male witness who agreed to help officers try to locate them.

According to the male witness, he was aware of the drinking session in the back of the store where the alleged incident took place, and that four men and a woman, who has mental issues, were involved in the drinking session.

He further told officers that he knows where the two suspects live. Upon arrival at the suspects’ residence, the witness pointed out the house where both suspects were sitting on the front porch of the house. Officers then apprehended both defendants, who matched the descriptions given by the victim’s sister and bystanders.

At the same time, photos were taken by the police of the two defendants to be shown to the victim for confirmation. At the LBJ Hospital, the victim identified the two suspects via the photos, as the two males who attempted to rape her in the back of the store in Tafuna.

According to the victim’s statement to police, Tagaloa was the one who allegedly held her down while Sale was the one that ripped her pants off and tried to rape her and forcibly kiss her. Tagaloa also continued to hold her down with his hands in her hair in an effort to stop her from leaving the scene.

 Body searches were conducted by police on both of the defendants, during which time a cut up straw containing methamphetamine was found in Tagaloa’s possession, while a hand rolled marijuana cigarette was found in Sale’s pants pocket.

Officers also detected a strong odor of alcohol emitting from their breath. Both suspects were transported to the TPS for further investigation.

The two defendants were questioned in separate interrogation rooms when they arrived at the TPS.

The two men made their initial appearances in court last month.

Tagaloa is charged with one count of attempted rape and one count of unlawful possession of methamphetamine, both felonies; while Sale is charged with one count of felonious restraint and one count of unlawful possession of marijuana, both felonies.

Bail is set at $10,000 for each defendant.