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Man with long criminal history awaits sentencing — again

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ausage@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man from Iliili with a long criminal history entered into a plea agreement with the government last week in High Court.

Setu Filemoni, who is on probation, was initially charged with resisting arrest and second degree assault, both felonies; and three 3 misdemeanors: two counts of third degree assault, and public peace disturbance.

Under a plea agreement with the government, Filemoni pled guilty to second degree assault, a class D felony, punishable by up to 5 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $5,000 or both.

Filemoni admits that on Nov. 29, 2018 in Tafuna he assaulted a man by punching him in the face and striking his head with an empty beer bottle. According to terms of the plea agreement, on the day of the incident, police responded to a call from someone in the Tafuna area, regarding a disturbance.

When cops arrived, an unknown male who was later identified as Filemoni, yelled profanities at them and asked them to leave the area. Another man, later identified as the victim in this case, tried to stop Filemoni from fleeing the scene.

Filemoni turned around and punched him twice.

The victim fell and that’s when Filemoni grabbed an empty beer bottle and struck him on the head while he was lying unconscious on the ground. The victim sustained serious injuries to his head.

In 2015, the High Court placed Filemoni on probation for five years, following convictions for felony driving and resisting arrest. As a condition of probation, Filemoni was ordered to serve 20 months at the TCF and remain law abiding.

Filemoni admits that his actions in this recent incident, violated conditions of his 2016 probation. Filemoni, who is still in custody unable to post a $5,000 cash bond, is scheduled for sentencing and a disposition hearing next month.