Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man with a long criminal history was taken into custody last month after police picked him up for a public peace disturbance (PPD) in the Tafuna area.

Filitoa Apelu, 35, who has a previous assault and stealing conviction from 2014, made his initial appearance in court last month.

Apelu is charged with second-degree assault a felony; and two misdemeanors — PPD and third-degree assault.

Bail is set at $10,000.

THE CASE

Cops responded to a PPD in Happy Valley, after a young woman contacted police for assistance, regarding an intoxicated man yelling profanities at her husband and throwing stones at her friend’s house.

Police arrived on the scene and spoke to the called, who explained the incident which allegedly began when their vehicle was blocked by the truck of the defendant.

The caller said her husband was punched in the face by the defendant who had yelled out, “You’re parking in our land and you’re blocking the road to my house.” The defendant also punched one of the three men who had jumped in to help her husband, causing them to flee for their safety.

A man from the neighboring house rushed to the scene, grabbed the defendant and held on to him until police officers arrived.

Apelu was apprehended outside of his truck and transported to the Tafuna Police Station (TPS) for questioning.

When interviewed, Apelu said that he assaulted the victim for blocking the road to his house. He said it was the victim’s fault, and went on to describe an incident that had happened two hours prior to the current confrontation.

The victim’s vehicle allegedly had blocked his truck from leaving the parking lot of a store in Tafuna by parking behind him, while the victim went into the store. He said he waited for over an hour for the victim to come back out and remove his vehicle.

It was on their way back home, the defendant said when they spotted the same vehicle that had blocked their vehicle at the store blocking the other half of the road to his house.

The defendant said he was in the passenger’s seat while his cousin was driving. He then exited their vehicle, walked over to the victim and yelled at him that he’s blocking the road before he punched him in the face.

He also stated that the victim turned around and grabbed his neck and told him that he would kill him and his family if he bothered him again.

Apelu further confirmed that he did punch one of the three young who tried to interfere, and that another man grabbed his neck and held him until police arrived.