Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man accused of assaulting his mother and his little brother at their house in Leone is now in custody after he was arrested by police last month.

Paea Fifita made his initial appearance in Court.

He is charged with one count of abuse of a child, a class D felony, punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to 5 years, a fine of up to $5,000 or both, and one class A misdemeanor of 3rd-degree assault.

Bail is set at $5,000.

THE CASE

On Mar. 25, 2022, a mother called requesting police assistance at their residence in Leone regarding her son making unreasonable noises and using obscene language at their residence.

Police officers responded to the request immediately and while they were approaching the residence, they could hear from the outside of the house a female voice crying out loud as if someone was assaulting her. Officers immediately entered the house and saw a male individual, later identified as Paea Fifita choking a male individual, while his mother was struggling to stop him from choking and beating up the victim.

Police detected a strong odor of alcohol emitting from the suspect’s breath and self.

Upon apprehending the suspect, he threatened the victim by saying once he gets released from TCF he is going to beat him up again.

The suspect was transported to the Leone Police Substation (LPS) for further investigation regarding the matter. The victim and the suspect’s mother refused medical treatment. They told officers that they’re okay and all they want was for them to take away the suspect from their house.

The mother stated that the suspect came in the house and started yelling profanities and broke down their back door. He then walked towards his little brother who was playing his games and beat him up.

The mother tried to stop the suspect but he pushed her onto the ground twice and hit her stomach multiple times. The mother said she was struggling to breathe after the suspect hit her stomach multiple times.

The suspect’s brother was also interviewed by police. He stated that he was playing his games in his room when the suspect surprised him by entering the room and choking him and beat him without any reason.

The suspect was later transported to the TCF where he was later booked and confined.