Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On April 24, 2025, a business owner called the Fagatogo Police Station and requested assistance regarding an alleged theft of items from his store. The victim provided CCTV footage of two separate incidents of when the suspect took items without paying.

The suspect was arrested and charged with:

Count 1 & 3: Trespass, a class B misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to six months, a fine of up to $500, or both; and,

Count 2 & 4: Stealing, a class D felony punishable by a term of imprisonment not to exceed seven years, a fine not to exceed $5,000, or both imprisonment and fine.

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

According to the court affidavit, on Apr. 24th, a store owner contacted the FPS regarding an individual, later identified as Jeremiah Moliga (suspect). The victim claimed that the suspect entered the store and grabbed items from the shelves, and then consumed these items without paying.

The victim’s store is located in Fagaalu.

Police officers responded to the call and upon arrival at the scene, one of the officers proceeded to the grocery side of the building while the other officer went through the restaurant side in an attempt to prevent the suspect from fleeing.

The officers located the suspect at one of the store's dining tables along with an empty 2-litre orange drink bottle.

When the officers confronted the suspect, they noticed that it was the same suspect from a similar incident that had previously required police assistance. In the previous case, the suspect ordered food from the same store (restaurant) and later refused to pay. At the time, the suspect was told by the authorities not to go back to the victim’s place of business pursuant to the wishes of the victim.

The victim then provided a statement regarding the two separate incidents.

The first incident occurred on Apr. 18, 2025 at about 6:19 a.m., whereby the suspect entered their store’s restaurant side and made his way towards the register and grabbed their plastic tip cup. The victim claimed that the cup contained a little over $200 and some coins. He added that his wife had already counted their register money, including the tips.

Shortly after, the victim’s wife directed the officers towards the store’s main computer where the CCTV footage from the Apr. 18th incident was played. The footage revealed the suspect had entered the store's restaurant side and headed straight for the register.

While viewing the store’s surveillance footage, the victim verbally stated that he repeatedly told the suspect to leave. However, despite his attempts, the suspect made his way around the store and grabbed items, ignoring his pleas. The victim also stated that he called the police but no one showed up.

The second incident, was also recorded on CCTV footage on Apr. 24th, at around 7:55 a.m. It revealed the suspect holding a 2-litre bottle of a soda drink in his left hand. At the same time, the suspect grabbed something from the counter that was later confirmed by the victim to be a brownie. The suspect then grabbed what appeared to be a plastic cup and hid it under a towel he had over his shoulder. He then exited the store while simultaneously glancing back. The suspect was confirmed to have taken the items from the store without paying.

The suspect was apprehended and transported to the station where he was Mirandized and refused to make a statement.

He was later booked and transported to the Tafuna Correctional Facility to await the next available sitting of the District Court.

Jeremiah Moliga is identified as 26-year-old U.S National.