Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A drunken male was arrested for public peace disturbance on November 3, 2023, after allegedly sexually harassing a cashier verbally in a store.

Steve Pati was arrested after he was reported by the owner of the Lucky 7 store, Jiang Q. Gas, as causing a disturbance inside his store in Nuuuli at around 11 am.

According to the court affidavit, before arriving on the scene, police observed a male walking near Lucky 7, holding an open beer can and they asked him to come and speak with them in front of the store. He was seen swaying side to side and almost falling down. A strong odor of alcoholic beverage was detected exiting from his breath and clothes. Asked if he was the one the storeowner had reported as causing a disturbance, the male replied that had gone to the store to buy some food.

Police met up with the owner inside his store, who briefed them on what had happened and identified the drunken male as the culprit, who had harassed his female cashier.

The cashier provided a written statement to police as to what had occurred. The drunken male was then arrested and transported to the Tafuna Police Substation for booking.

According to Mr. Gao’s verbal statement, the defendant came to the store four times on that day, and harassed the cashier by sexually harassing her verbally.  When the storeowner tried to take him out of the store he refused and that’s when the store owner called the police.

The cashier confirmed Mr. Gao’s account of the sexual verbal abuse and said that’s why she asked the drunken male to leave the premises. She also stated that he was asking customers for money when they entered the store.

She further reported that on the previous day, the defendant had come to the store at night and allegedly “took some stuff and destroyed the bread without paying.”  He had also harassed her to get her to sell him beer, even though she “kept telling him that beers were not allowed to be sold because of the night curfew.”

At the TPS, Steve Pati was identified and mirandized in the Samoan language. He said he understood and signed the form.

The arresting police officer reported in his affidavit that Mr. Pati refused to go to the Tafuna Correctional Facility because his ID had expired.

Mr. Pati is said to be 48 years old and a citizen of Samoa, who is currently living in Nuuuli and is unemployed.

He is being charged with a class B misdemeanor, which is punishable by imprisonment for six months, a fine of $500, or both.

Bail is set at $300.