Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On July 28, 2024, a traffic stop led to the arrest of a male individual who admitted to officers that he had “weed” (marijuana) in his vehicle. A police search also found methamphetamine (meth) in the vehicle.

The suspect was arrested and later charged with:

Count 1: Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance (Methamphetamine), a felony punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than five years and not more than 10 years, a fine of not less than $5,000 and not more than $20,000, or both; and,

Count 2: Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance (Marijuana), a felony punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than five years and not more than 10 years, a fine of not less than $5,000 and not more than $20,000, or both.

The defendant’s bail was set $100,000.

According to the affidavit, on July 28th, at around 3:00 a.m, the suspect, who was later identified as Anderson Ta’ala Jr., was pulled over by traffic officers for speeding.

The officers approached Ta’ala and informed him on why he was pulled over, and when the officers asked Ta’ala for his driver’s license he was unable to furnish one.

The suspect stated that he forgot his license at home. He was then advised that the vehicle would be impounded due to him not having a driver’s license. He was then informed that one of the officers will operate his vehicle and he will be the passenger.

When Ta'ala was detained for officer safety, he was asked by the officers if he had any weapons in the vehicle that may harm any of the officers. Ta’ala stated “no” that he did not, but he had a bit of weed (marijuana) inside the vehicle.

When the vehicle was impounded to the TPS, Ta’ala was asked if he could show them what he meant by weed. The suspect then asked the officer to grab his small Nike bag and for the officer to open the bag. When the officer opened the bag, a clear medium sized baggie was discovered with green leafy substance inside, along with rolling papers a very small amount of a white crystalline substance.

One of the officers was notified and he tested what was discovered inside Ta'ala bag.

The crystalline substance was tested using the Methamphetamine Field Test Kit and the result came out positive for meth; and, the green leafy substance was tested using the Duquenois Field Test Kit and it was positive for THC, one of the active ingredients in marijuana. The traffic officer was also present during the test.

The defendant was Mirandized and he agreed to make a statement and answer questions. According to the suspect’s verbal statement, he was on his way to sell the his last weed baggie to a customer.

The officer asked how much the baggie was and the suspect stated he was selling it for a hundred dollars. Ta’ala then explained that he had been on his way to pick up his other baggies, which his other friends were holding for him.

The evidence was turned into the evidence custodian and the medium sized baggie with green leafy substance was weighed, and it was 2.63 grams.

Ta’ala was booked and transported to the Tafuna Correctional Facility for confinement for 48 hours to await the next available sitting of the District Court.

The defendant is identified as a U.S National.