Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On July 14, 2024, a female individual contacted the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) to report a male individual who stole the television from their house.

Police officers apprehended the defendant from his home and he was later charged with:

Count 1: Resisting Arrest, a class A misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to one year, a fine of $1,000, or both; and,

Count 2: Stealing (DV), a class C felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than seven years, a minimal fine of $150 and additional fine of $5,000, or both imprisonment and fine.

The defendant’s bail was set at $1,000.

According to the affidavit, on July 14, at about 5:00 p.m, Tony Iosua stole his father’s Samsung Smart T.V. from the living room of their house. Investigation revealed that the television was worth $197.

On July 14, 2024 at about 6:19 p.m, the TPS received a call from a female individual claiming that the defendant unplugged the television and ran out of the house.

Police officers responded to the scene and met up with the reporter where she explained what had happened and asked if they (police) could walk to the house while the defendant was inside the room.

The caller/ reporter stated that when she came home the television was gone. She asked her little sister if she saw the television and she was told that Tony came to the house, unplugged the TV then took off with it.

The officers approached the house where the defendant was, and apprehended him. During the arrest, the suspect resisted by using physical force to push back the officers.

After the cuffs were placed on the defendant’s hands, officers escorted him out of the house and he kept on reaching for his right back pocket.

The officers then conducted a pat down and the defendant reached out and grabbed a blue glass case that was inside his back pocket. One of the officers stated he heard a sound of a glass cracking then he continued trying to open up the defendant’s grip. When the defendant’s hand was finally released, the officer opened the glass case and observed paraphernalia with white substances inside. The whole time the struggle was happening, the defendant kept telling the officers to get rid of the paraphernalia.

One of the officers interviewed a witness at the scene, where she verbally stated that the defendant came into the living room and unplugged his father’s TV and took off with it. At about 5:00 p.m, the defendant came back and she asked him about the TV and he replied that he took it to get it fixed. She then asked him why the TV needed to be fixed as it was working perfectly on Sunday.

Upon arrival at the TPS, the defendant was Mirandized where he opted to make a statement and answer questions.

According to the defendant’s statement, he went and removed the TV from the living room to take it inside his room and accidentally dropped it. He then explained that he picked up the TV and it was blacked out hence why he took it to one of his friends to get it fixed.

The defendant was later booked and transported to the Tafuna Correctional Facility to be confined and await the next available sitting of the District Court.

The defendant is identified as a 20-year-old U.S National.