Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man with two prior convictions over a decade ago is back in court again on a new allegation that he stole his sister-in-law’s vehicle. When pulled over by traffic officers two months ago, the suspect, Vili Isaako told officers the vehicle belonged to his brother — not his sister-in-law.

Isaako was taken into custody on Oct. 14 after officers pulled the vehicle he was driving over, after it was reported to police by his sister-in-law as stolen. The defendant made his initial appearance in court on Oct. 17th.

He is charged with one count of stealing, a class C felony, punishable by imprisonment of up to 7 years, a $5,000 fine or pursuant to A.S.C.A 46.2101, a fine equal the twice the amount of gain from the commission of said crime, up to a maximum of $20,000, or both such fine and imprisonment.

Bail was set at $5,000.

THE CASE

The government claims that on the morning of Oct. 14th, a woman from Tafeta contacted the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) for assistance to locate her vehicle, a gray pick-up, which she said was stolen by her husband’s brother, Vili Isaako, the defendant in this case.

The pick-up was stopped an hour later, with two people in the vehicle, the driver, Isaako, and a male passenger.

When told the vehicle he was driving was stolen, the defendant told police that the pick-up belongs to his brother, not his sister-in-law.

Officers told the defendant that the vehicle was being impounded and he needed to come with them to the TPS for further discussion. Isaako’s sister-in-law also went to the TPS, and provided officers with a document confirming that the pick-up is registered in her name, Julie Tagaloa, the victim in this case.

However, the defendant continued to claim that the vehicle belonged to his brother not his sister-in-law. The defendant told police that it was his niece (his brother’s daughter) who changed the ownership of the vehicle to her mother’s name (sister-in-law) without informing her father (defendant’s brother) about the change.

 After further discussion, the defendant was taken into custody and charged with stealing.

PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION (PX)

During Isaako’s preliminary examination (PX), the defense attorney wanted to know whether the vehicle really belonged to his client’s sister-in-law. The government witness told the court that the vehicle is registered under the sister-in-law’s name.

When the defense attorney asked if there’s any period of time the sister-in-law gave Isaako permission to drive the vehicle prior to the day of the alleged incident, the witness replied, “I don’t know.”

The court advised the defendant and his attorney that if they feel that there are other documents that can support their argument that the vehicle does not belong to the defendant’s sister-in-law, they need to provide those documents before a jury. However, the purpose of the preliminary examination is to find probable cause if a crime has been committed and if the suspect is the person of interest in such a crime.

The court found probable cause to bound the defendant’s matter to the High Court for further proceedings.

Isaako appeared in High Court last week for arraignment. His pretrial conference is now set for next month.