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Man arrested after break-in where he was allegedly up to no good

American Samoa DIistrict Court building
Cops claim he had drugs on him, plus he had an active warrant
ausage@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A 30-year-old who’s accused of breaking into a home in Vaitogi and then managing to get away as the occupants woke up and saw him, was arrested by police last month and he’s now being charged.

During his arrest, officers discovered illegal drugs in his possession. Furthermore, he also has an active warrant from last year for his involvement in a burglary case from Pago Pago.

The defendant, Maselusa Una made his initially appearance in District Court last month.

The government has filed two separate criminal cases against Una.

In the first case, he is charged with one count of unlawful possession of methamphetamine (meth) and one count of unlawful possession of marijuana, both unclassified felonies, punishable by a term of imprisonment from 5-10 years, a fine of up to $20,000, or both; along with one count of 1st degree burglary, a class B felony, punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than five years nor more than fifteen years; along with one count of endangering the welfare of a child, one count of underage drinking and one count of trespass, all class A misdemeanors.

In the second case, Una is charged with stealing and burglary, both class C felonies, punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than five years nor more than fifteen years, along with one count of property damage in the third degree, a class A misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment of up to one year, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.

Bail is set at $20,000.

Preliminary examination is set for next week.

THE CASE

On Aug. 28, 2021 a woman contacted the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) to report that a male who was later identified as Maselusa Una broke into their residence and stole several items. Several police officers responded to the incident and met up with the reporter and she showed officers the point of entry — which was through the window of her bedroom.

The reporter further stated to police that the man fled the scene after her granddaughter yelled out to him to get out of the house.

Officers interviewed several members of the family affected by the defendant’s action, including the reporter and her family. The reporter told officers that it was her grandchildren who informed her about the identity of the intruder who forced his way into their home.

The reporter’s granddaughter, who had screamed at Una to get out, saw  him take off running and jump out of the window. She further saw Una and two male individuals running towards the woods.

Investigators also interviewed the reporter’s grandson who was also present during the incident. Woken up by prolonged barking of dogs outside their house, he told investigators that he then walked outside of the house to check why the dogs were barking. It was at that time, he heard his sister yelling out to Una to get out of the house.

As he was returned to inside the house, he saw Una jump out of their house through the window to his mother’s room. He easily recognized Una because he knew him and they used to hang around the village.

Investigators also interviewed a 16-year-old girl regarding this incident. She is identified as V.F in the affidavit. According to V.F’s statement to investigators, Una started messaging and calling her using messenger asking where she was and wanting to see her, that’s when she messaged back to Una on Facebook telling him not to send her any messages because it made her feel uncomfortable.

V.F stated that she was with her older sister sleeping and she heard her older sister yelling at someone. She immediately got up and saw Una running towards her mother’s room and that he jumped out of her mother’s window leaving his shirt behind. V.F was able to identify the individual as Una because he was the person who came and talked to her during a volleyball game at the church compound.

V.F also stated that on the next morning, Aug. 26th, she went with her mom to Una’s home, which is one house away from her house and confronted Una about the break-in and at first he denied it; but V.F’s mother kept asking Una numerous times and it was Una’s family that first admitted that he was the one that broke into their house.

About 9:30a.m on Aug. 27th, a member of the victim’s family contacted the TPS and reported that they had found the person that broke into their house and he’s at his home. Several officers responded and met with Una’s parents and informed them about the situation. Una was not at his house when police went to speak to him.

Four days later, Una was apprehended from his friend’s house in Iliili and was immediately transported to the TPS for questioning. Before he was taken into TPS for questioning, he was patted down and officers discovered a cut up straw containing white crystalline substance in Una’s pocket. Officers also discovered inside his wallet a small stamp sized baggie containing green leafy substance.

Unasa was Mirandized after which he said he understood and waived his rights and said he wanted to make a statement regarding the incident.

According to Una’s statement to investigators, after hanging out with friends — playing billiards and drinking beer — at around 1:30a.m he walked with his cousins to go home, and decided to message his girlfriend and ask her to come outside to hang out with him. After no response from her, he decided to go to her residence, and he opened the screen wire to a bedroom room, jumped inside and went looking for V.F.

He noticed V.F sleeping in the living room and went to wake her up so they could hang out, but V.F’s sister woke up yelling out saying, “Someone is inside the house” that’s when he ran back to the mother’s room and exited through the window where he had entered and fled.

When asked about the drugs found in his possession, Una admitted that the drugs belonged to him.

It was during the defendant’s interview that investigators discovered an outstanding warrant from last year for Una’s involvement in a burglary case in Pago Pago.

THE BURGLARY CASE IN PAGO PAGO

On Nov. 12, 2020, Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) was contacted about a matter in the Pago Pago area where two male individuals forced their way inside a home and allegedly stole several items.

Several police officers responded to the call and were able to meet up with the woman who called police for assistance. According to an eyewitness, she was standing outside in her yard when she saw two male individuals make their way to the back of the house — one entered the house through the back door while the other man stayed outside as a lookout. Some time later, they both left, running to the other side of the road where they disappeared.

The eyewitness identified the man who entered the house through the back door as 24-year-old Aleki Reno, a man from the area.

One month later on Dec. 22nd, 2020, Reno was apprehended by police and transported to the TPS for questioning, where he told officers that he and his friend, Maselusa Una broke into the house and stole items.

Reno further explained to officers that it was Una’s plan to burglarize the victim’s house, however, when they arrived at the location, Una instructed him to go inside the house while he (Una) stood outside as a lookout.

Items they stole from the house included two laptops, a Samsung cell phone, other electronic devices and money.

At the time, officers looked for Una but he was nowhere to be found.