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Family fight lands man in court after alleged assault of brother-in-law

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ausage@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man who attempted to pick a fight with his 46-year-old uncle and then assaulted his brother-in-law has been ordered to serve 40 days at the TCF for violating conditions of his probation. He is also placed on probation for 24 months after he pled guilty to private peace disturbance (PPD) and third degree assault.

Tipasa Filipo appeared in court last week for a pretrial conference, where his attorney revealed that both sides have reached an agreement and his client wished to plead guilty to the charges against him.

Filipo was initially facing charges in two separate cases.

For the first case, he was charged with PPD and in a separate case, he was charged with third degree assault and PPD.

Filipo pled guilty to PPD in the first case, and third degree assault in the other. The remaining charges were dismissed.

He admits that on Jan. 14, 2021, while he was drunk, he engaged in a fight with his brother-in-law, and he punched him in the face multiple times.

He also admits that one week later on Jan. 22, 2021 again drunk, he committed PPD at home by engaging in a verbal argument with his uncle and challenging him to a fight after his uncle accused him of stealing from his house.

With his pleas of guilty in both cases, Filipo admits that he violated conditions of his 24-month probation by consuming alcohol and PPD.

(Filipo was placed on probation for 24 months last year following a third degree assault conviction. In Aug. 19, 2019, a few months after he was placed on probation, Filipo was in court again, charged with PPD, but he was later released after he posted a $500 cash bond, under the condition that he maintains the peace within his family.)

When given the chance to speak, Filipo, apologized for his actions and asked for another chance to return home. He said being in prison is not good for him, because he misses his parents and his family. But he didn't apologize to his uncle and brother-in-law, the victims in the two cases.

The defense attorney asked the court to give Filipo a probated sentence instead of revoking his probation.

The attorney further said Filipo admitted to his actions and he takes full responsibility for what happened. He added that his client now realizes how bad it is for him not to comply with conditions of probation.

The prosecutor asked the court to sentence Filipo to jail time because not only did he violate conditions of his probation, he also poses a threat to his own family, evident in his engaging in a fight with his brother-in-law (his sister’s husband).

“You are living a dangerous life sir. You need to change your behavior before it’s too late,” the court told the defendant.

Filipo was ordered to serve 30 days for private peace disturbance, and 120 days for third degree assault. But the court suspended the execution of the prison sentences and placed Filipo on probation for 24 months under the following conditions: He has to keep the peace at home at all times; he must stay alcohol and drug free; he has to attend and complete anger management and alcohol counseling; and he has to pay a fine of $100.

“If you’re back in court again, you will be ordered to serve your suspended imprisonment terms,” the court told Filipo. “Do something good in life and don’t appear before the court again.”