Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On January 14, 2025, a bus driver contacted the Fagatogo Police Station (FPS) to report an alleged domestic dispute between a couple on his bus.

The victim and suspect were both escorted out of the bus with the suspect later arrested and charged with:

Count 1: Public Peace Disturbance (Domestic Violence) With Penalty Enhancement, a class B misdemeanor but with penalty enhancement by one class above the class otherwise provided if found guilty herein a class A misdemeanor; and,

Count 2: Assault in the Third Degree (Domestic Violence) With a Penalty Enhancement, a class A misdemeanor but with penalty enhancement by one class above the class otherwise provided if found guilty herein a class D felony.

The defendant’s bail was set at $5,000.

According to the court affidavit, on Jan. 14th, at approximately 4:42 a.m., the FPS contacted the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) regarding a domestic violence call received from a bus driver.

The bus driver (later identified as the witness) reported the incident via cellphone, stating that a couple on his bus was involved in a physical altercation.

According to the witness, he saw the suspect (identified as Mr. Peni Ta’i) physically assault the victim while they were passengers on his bus. He said that he was concerned for the victim’s safety so he contacted the police to report the incident.

Upon receiving the report, the FPS dispatched TPS officers to respond to the call.

While traveling westbound, the assisting officers observed a bus matching the description provided by the witness. The bus was traveling eastbound in the village of Malaeimi near the new Fagaima road. The officers executed a U-turn and stopped the bus at a designated bus stop in the area.

The officers approached the bus and the witness (bus driver) identified the couple involved in the reported incident who was seated at the back of the bus.

The officers entered the bus to assess the situation using his flashlight for better visibility. The officers observed that the victim sustained visible injuries including a fresh red scratch on her left cheek near her nose with redness and swelling around the area. The victim’s face appeared bruised and swollen and noticeably upset and distressed.

The officers immediately apprehended the suspect and escorted the victim off the bus.

The suspect was secured in the back of the police unit whereas the victim was escorted in a separate police unit. Both individuals were transported to the TPS for further investigation and processing.

Upon arrival at the TPS, the victim and suspect were placed separately inside the interrogation rooms.

The witness was also interviewed and he explained that at approximately 4:27 a.m., he was following his usual routine of picking up passengers and transporting them to their destinations. While driving near the village of Puapua, the victim waved the bus down and he stopped to pick her up. After she boarded, he continued on the main road.

Shortly after, another individual waved the bus down where he stopped and picked up the individual who was later identified as the suspect, Peni Ta’i.

The witness stated he resumed driving and continued down the main road when he observed the suspect attempting to forcibly remove the victim from the bus. The victim was visibly resisting and refusing to comply with the suspect’s demands which caught his attention. The witness also verbally stated that he observed the suspect physically striking the victim in the face with his hands, as well as pulling her hair.

The witness also mentioned that although he was unable to see all the details due to the darkness, he told the victim and defendant to get off  buhiss. After they refused to get off, he contacted the police for assistance.

According to the victim’s statement, she woke up early that morning with the intention of getting her bag from her friend who works at the canneries. She explained that she had woken up late and as a result, missed the bus that her friend was supposed to be on. Not wanting to wait for the next bus, she decided to walk from the village of Auma to Puapua because she knows the buses in Auma often take long to arrive. Once she arrived in Puapua, she waited for a bus to come by. When she finally saw the bus approaching, she stopped it and got on.

However, she was shocked when the bus stopped again shortly after she boarded and she saw her boyfriend, Peni Ta’i, get on the same bus. As soon as the suspect saw her, he became visibly upset. The victim described how he was angry because she wasn’t home when he woke up. The suspect then began aggressively asking her questions, demanding to know why she had left the house.

The suspect continued questioning her in an angry tone and she stated she could feel his frustration growing. Without warning, the suspect punched her once in the stomach, causing her pain. He then grabbed her by the hair, yanking it forcefully, and slapped her across the face. The victim continued that the suspect tried to drag her off the bus but she refused to go with him.

She explained that she was scared for her safety. Knowing that if she got off the bus with him, he would likely beat her as soon as they were alone. She then made the decision to stay on the bus, hoping the bus driver would notice what was happening and call for help.

The victim also explained that she had been in a relationship with the suspect for five years and throughout those years, he had been physically abusive towards her. Despite the abuse, she never reported him to the authorities because she loved him.

At approximately 5:22 a.m., the suspect was Mirandized and he agreed to provide a statement and answer questions.

According to the suspect, he verbally stated that his girlfriend (victim) had been staying with him at a friend’s house since the previous Saturday. However, at around 2:00 a.m., the victim left the house and when he woke up to find her she was no longer there he attempted to find her.

He stated that he saw the victim boarding a bus in Puapua so he immediately boarded the bus after recognizing her. The suspect said that he was upset because she wasn’t there when he woke up and he confronted her. He wanted to know why she had left. He stated that she informed him that she was headed to Pago to stay with her friend because her family had kicked her out.

Ta’i then asked the victim if they could return to his friend’s house to care for their children but she refused. He asked her to get off the bus so they could talk but she continued to refuse his request. Instead, the victim began hitting him and he tried to calm her down as she acted aggressively towards him.

He said that during this confrontation, the victim, in an attempt to leave the bus, stuck her head out of the bus window. The suspect claimed that it was during this moment that she sustained injuries to her face. He said the injuries were caused by her nose ring getting caught during the act of sticking her head outside the window.

He further explained that her injuries were not caused by any physical assault from him but rather from the actions the victim took during the altercation.

The suspect was booked and transported to the Tafuna Correctional Facility to be confined until the next available sitting of the District Court.

The defendant is identified as a 29-year-old U.S National.