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Father of 3 alleged victim of assault during drinking session

LBJ Hospital sign
ausage@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A 33-year-old man accused of assaulting another man in Vaitogi by striking the victim’s head with a metal pipe made his initial appearance in Court 2 weeks ago.

Fitu Brown is charged with one count of second-degree assault, a class D felony, carrying a prison sentence of up to 5 years, a fine of up to $5,000 or both.

Bond is set at $10,000.

THE CASE

Around 10:12p.m on Nov. 22nd, a man called the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) to report that they were transporting a male to LBJ, who was assaulted in Vaitogi during a drinking session. According to the government, the victim is a 37-year-old married man and father of 3, from Vaitogi.

The government claims that the main witness — a male — and several family members were engaged in a drinking session at a home in Vaitogi the day before. Later in the evening, another family member stopped by, together with Brown.

Everything was okay until a little past ten that night, when a joke about hiding beer was made by the homeowner, the victim to the defendant, Brown.

That is when Brown allegedly got a hold of a metal pipe from outside, walked back into the house and struck the victim on the back, before hitting him on the head.

The victim was immediately transported to the hospital, while Brown fled the area and was apprehended at his uncle’s home in Tafuna and transported to the police station for questioning.

Brown confirmed to investigators that his friend had invited him to a party in Vaitogi. He said everything was good during the party but he felt ashamed when the victim made fun of him.

Brown said when he walked out to the parking lot, he heard the victim say something about him drinking all the beer and eating all the food at the party. He said he felt embarrassed and angry at the same time, and he wanted to do something to the victim.

According to Brown, he saw a metal pipe in the back of a truck parked in front the house. He said he grabbed the pipe and made his way back to the house where he struck the victim on his back before he hit him on the head, causing the victim to fall off the chair.

Meanwhile, the victim was admitted and referred to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for further observation.