Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Two men were arrested and charged as a result of a fight in Petesa last month.

Tautua Mapu and Dave Malo made their initial appearances in Court at that time.

Mapu is charged with 2nd- degree assault, a class D felony, along with two counts of PPD, while Malo is charged with 3rd- degree assault and PPD, both misdemeanors.

Bail for Mapu is set at $5,000 while Malo was released on his own recognizance after he appeared in Court for his initial appearance.

Mapu appeared in High Court last week for arraignment after he waived his right to a preliminary hearing. He is scheduled to appear in High Court next month for his first pretrial conference.

Malo on the other hand is scheduled to appear in court next month for his pretrial conference and his case is still before the District Court.

THE CASE

Around 4:32p.m on June 9, 2022, several police officers from the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) responded to a call for assistance after a man assaulted an elderly man with a metal pipe during a fight.

Officers arrived at the scene and observed a large group of people that stood in a crowd around an elderly man who was lying on the floor crying out in pain covering his left eye with the palm of his hand. The elderly man was later identified as the victim in this case.

Officers rendered aid to the victim while awaiting the arrival of EMS crews to assist him with his wound. Officers observed a wide open cut above the victim’s left eyebrow.

EMS crews transported the victim to the LBJ Tropical Medical Hospital for further medical treatment.

Officers spoke to several witnesses on the scene including the two men they eventually apprehended concerning the incident.

Some witnesses pointed to one of the defendants, Tautua Mapu as the man who allegedly struck the victim with a metal pipe.

However, Mapu denied that he struck the victim (his elderly uncle) with a pipe, saying it was a male individual that woke him up and started yelling profanities at him and continued to do so despite being told to get out. Mapu further stated that the male came towards him and asked him if he had a problem, then punched him.

After receiving a written statement from the defendant, investigators proceeded back to the scene to locate the male Mapu claimed had struck the elderly man’s eye with a metal pipe. The male was later identified as Dave Malo.

Investigators apprehended Malo and transported him to the TPS where he was Mirandized and he agreed to speak to investigators regarding the matter.

Malo told investigators it was Mapu who caused injury to the victim with a metal pipe, not him. Malo showed investigators the metal pipe that was used by Mapu to swing at Malo, which struck the victim.

Malo said he asked Mapu if he was able to cook the rice, which upset Mapu. Mapu got mad and grabbed a metal pipe and swung at him. Malo stated that he dodged when Mapu swung the metal pipe, causing Mapu to hit his uncle (victim) in the left eye.

Malo admits that he was also upset with Mapu and that’s when they got into a fistfight.

Investigators interviewed a third witness regarding the incident and according to the third witness’s statement to investigators, she stated that she saw Mapu strike the eye of the victim with an unknown hard object.

The witness told investigators that Malo got upset with Mapu and started a fight and both parties were yelling profanities. The witness told investigators that it was she who contacted the TPS for police assistance because it was hard to calm everyone down. The witness further stated that Mapu and Malo continued the fight until officers showed up at the scene.

Both Mapu and Malo were transported to the Territorial Correctional Facility (TCF) where they were booked and confined.

Mapu is facing felony charges while Malo is charged with misdemeanor charges.