Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man was arrested by police in Nu’uuli after he went into his uncle’s house with a knife in his hand.

The defendant, Agamalu Filoi made his initial appearance in court last month.

He’s charged with private peace disturbance and 3rd-degree assault.

Bail is set at $2,500.

The government claims that on Apr. 11, 2022, a male contacted the TPS reporting that the defendant in this case was outside of their house holding a knife in his right hand and calling out to him to come out of the house to fight him.

Several police officers responded to the call and were able to met up with the caller/ victim in front of his house.

As police officers made their way to the house, they observed a male standing on the other side of the compound smoking a cigarette. The male was later identified as Agamalu Filoi, the defendant in this matter.

The suspect walked to the location where several police officers were standing with the victim but he was told to stay where he was.

Officers went over to the suspect and asked him about the incident while other officers were interviewing the victim and his family. The victim is the suspect’s aunt’s husband.

The victim told police that there was a family issue a few weeks ago where his wife (suspect’s aunty) was having a verbal argument with the defendant’s mother during a family meeting.

The victim thinks that is the reason why the suspect came to his house with a knife in his hand because he always act like this when something happens between his mother and other family members.

The victim said that it was right after their evening prayers when he heard the suspect calling out his name demanding him to come out of the house to fight him. That’s when he told his wife and children to stay inside the house while he called police for assistance.

The victim stated after calling the police, he walked outside of the house and told the suspect, who was standing about 20 yards from the door step, to go home because he already called the police.

The suspect refused to go but continued on calling out to him (victim) to come out and fight him.

The defendant was apprehended at the scene and taken to the TPS for further investigation.

Officers interviewed the defendant, who was calm and normal and he also complied with all instructions given to him by investigators.

According to the defendant’s statement, he was mad at his aunt for what she done to his mother during a family meeting. So he decided to challenge his aunt’s husband for a fight because he was pissed off.

The suspected admits that he was armed with a knife but there was no intention of hurting anyone with the knife. It was just his way of threatening his aunt and her family.