Man accused of beating up on neighborhood kids for being too noisy
Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A father of four accused of assaulting a 15-year-old boy with a tree limb is now in custody after he was arrested by police last month.
The defendant, Faavesi Saipeti, who appeared in Court last month for his initial appearance has a pending case in High Court on drug possession charges.
Saipeti is charged with one count of 2nd-degree assault and one count of abuse of a child, both class D felonies, punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to five years, a fine of up to $5,000 or both, along with one count of endangering the welfare of a child and PPD, both class A misdemeanors.
Bail is set at $15,000.
THE CASE
According to the government’s case, it was on June 10, 2022 when a woman from Tafeta contacted the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) requesting assistance for her 15-year-old son who was allegedly assaulted by a man with a tree limb.
The reporter told officers that her son sustained a big laceration and needed immediate medical assistance.
The man who is accused of assaulting the victim was later identified as Faavesi Saipeti, the defendant in this case.
Several police officers responded to the call and met up with the reporter and along with her son, the victim in this case.
Officers observed blood coming from the victim’s head while his mother was using a t-shirt on the victim’s head to stop the bleeding. The victim’s father briefed officers about the matter.
According to the father, he was at the house when his 10-year-old daughter came running to their residence and told him of what had happened to her brother, the victim at the defendant’s house, which was one block away from their house.
The victim’s sister told her father that the defendant struck the victim’s head with a hard tree branch causing blood to come down from the victim’s head and cover his face and body.
As the victim’s sister was trying to explain to her father what happened, the father saw his son (victim) making his way to the back of the house while holding his head. The father walked over to his son and immediately assisted him with his injuries.
According to the father, his son sustained a big laceration on the center of his head. The victim’s father further told police that this is not the first time Saipeti had assaulted one of his children.
Two weeks prior, the defendant allegedly assaulted the man’s 13-year-old son at a volleyball game. He did not want to cause any trouble because the defendant and his family own the land where they’re living. The victim’s father further stated that if they defendant and his family decided to kick them out of the land, then, they have no place to go.
Both the victim and his sister were also interviewed at their residence after officers spoke with the father.
According to victim’s verbal statement, while he and two of his friends were playing outside of his aunt’s house, right next to the defendant’s house, they were shocked when Saipeti came from behind them and asked them to come to his house because he wanted to speak to all three of them.
The victim and his two friends went to Saipeti’s house where they all sat down while Saipeti questioned them as to why they make so much noise around his house while his sick mother is sleeping inside the house.
The victim told investigators that out of nowhere, Saipeti stood up and struck his head with a hard tree branch he was holding and yelled at all of them to get out of his house.
According to the victim, his two friends — who were sitting close to the doorstep — quickly stood up and ran away. However, as he was trying to stand up, he felt dizzy and could hardly move. He felt pain on his head and body and the next thing he noticed was blood coming from his head and covering his facial area and body.
His two friends who ran away told his younger sister — who was at his aunt’s house — what happened and his sister quickly ran to him and saw blood coming down from his head. That is when his sister ran back to their house and informed his parents about the situation.
Investigators went to Saipeti’s house to speak to him about the incident but he was not at home. His mother told investigators that Saipeti had left the house and was heading to his older brother’s house in Kokoland.
Saipeti was apprehended at his brother’s house in Kokoland where he was placed inside a police unit and later transported to the TPS where he was Mirandized and agreed to speak to investigators about the alleged incident.
He told police his side of what happened, basically agreeing with the victim’s account. However, Saipeti said there was no intention to hurt anybody, however, out of his anger, he accidentally struck one of the boys on the head with the hard tree branch he was holding. After he struck the victim on his head, he yelled at all of them to get out of his house. He then left.
Saipeti went on to say that he only wanted to scare them off but he could not hold his anger that caused him to assault the minor.
PENDING CASE
Saipeti’s pending case is from when he was arrested and charged for unlawful possession of methamphetamine (meth) and marijuana after cops discovered illegal drugs inside his vehicle during a traffic stop last year for speeding. He had no form of photo ID on him when stopped and he was apprehended and his vehicle impounded.
During the vehicle inventory, cops discovered an empty wallet under the driver’s seat. Inside the empty wallet were two small stamp-sized baggies containing meth and two hand rolled marijuana joints.
Saipeti was charged with one count of unlawful possession of meth and one count of unlawful possession of marijuana, both felonies.
He was released on bond to await the outcome of his case. One of the conditions of his release on bond was to be law abiding.