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) matter in Petesa in the Tafuna area.

Fred Lilomai’ava, a.ka. Fereti Lilomai’ava, 42, who has a previous assault and stealing conviction from 2014, made his initial appearance in court last month.

Lilomai’ava is charged with second-degree assault and unlawful possession of marijuana, both felonies; and two misdemeanors — PPD and third-degree assault.

Bail is set at $15,000.

THE CASE

Cops responded to a public peace disturbance in Petesa, Tafuna, 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 and spoke to the caller who told them that it was around 7:21p.m when she called her husband to pick her up, along with her children, in front of her friend’s house in the Petesa area. She said as her husband was about to exit his vehicle, an old red truck pulled up and blocked her husband’s vehicle. Her husband exited his vehicle and walked over to speak to the driver of the truck.

As her husband was approaching the driver, a man who was later identified as the defendant exited the passenger’s side of the red truck, walked towards her husband and immediately punched him in the face and yelled, “You’re parking in our land and you’re blocking the road to my house.”

According to the witness, her husband did not throw any punches; instead, he stood up and ran back to where his vehicle was parked, while the defendant followed him.

Two men who were walking on the road at the time of the alleged incident jumped in and stopped the defendant from striking the victim again. However, the defendant turned around and punched one of the men who had tried to stop him. The two men who had jumped in to help the victim then took off for their safety.

The defendant walked back to the husband’s vehicle and tried to open the driver’s door in an effort to assault him again, however, the victim had locked the door and the defendant was unable to open it.

The defendant then turned around — walked back to his vehicle — jumped inside and tried to leave the scene. However, a man from the neighboring house rushed to the scene, grabbed the defendant and held on to him while the defendant was still inside his vehicle. Lilomaiava resisted and tried to push back the man but the man was too strong, and he was able to hold the defendant, until the police officers arrived.

Lilomaiava was apprehended and transported to the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) for questioning.

When interviewed, Lilomaiava 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 some hours prior to the current confrontation, where the victim’s vehicle had blocked his truck from leaving the parking lot of a store in Tafuna when the victim parked behind him and went into the store. He said he waited for over an hour for the victim to come back out and move his vehicle.

He also confirmed that he threw stones at the house where a woman was standing because the woman yelled at him to leave the area.

The defendant further stated that he and his cousin were driving back home 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.

As he was making his way to his vehicle, the defendant told officers that a couple of young men walked over and tried to interfere, so he turned around and punched one man in the eye before the men took off. As he was trying to move his vehicle, that’s when a man grabbed his neck from outside and held him inside his vehicle before police arrived.

It was revealed during Lilomaiava’s police interview that he had an outstanding arrest warrant from another assault case, where he is alleged to have assaulted a man, using a hammer during a drinking session at his friend’s house in Iliili in 2020.

THE OUTSTANDING WARRANT

On Oct. 29, 2020, a woman contacted the TPS for help, after her husband was assaulted by a man known as “Freddy” during a drinking session at their neighbor’s house in Iliili. Freddy was later identified as Fereti Lilomaiava.

When police arrived, the woman told them her husband was at their neighbor’s house for a wedding party and her husband was engaged in a drinking session with other men who were at the party.

Around 9:30p.m, her neighbor called her to inform her that her husband was injured after another man assaulted him by striking his head with a hammer. The caller rushed to the scene and discovered her husband sitting on a chair with blood covering his face while another man, later identified as the defendant, was standing on the other side of the house holding a hammer in his right hand.

Eyewitnesses told police that Lilomaiava is believed to have instructed the victim to go home because he was drunk and “it’s time for him to go to sleep.” The victim responded by telling Lilomaiava to mind his own business because he was not the person who provided everything for the party. That’s when Lilomaiava pushed the victim and threatened to kill him if he refused to go home.

The victim became angry and allegedly yelled out profane words to Lilomaiava and told him that he should be thankful for the free food and beer he received from someone he doesn’t know. Furthermore, the victim told Lilomaiava that only a coward acted like that.

While the victim was attempting to stand up, Lilomaiava walked over to him and hit him on the back of the head with a hammer, causing the victim to fall; and while the victim was on the ground, Lilomaiava allegedly kicked his back twice before walking to the other side of the house.

Video footage of the incident recorded by a nearby store’s surveillance camera was obtained by police, and it confirmed Lilomaiava’s involvement.

After police obtained a warrant from the court to arrest Lilomaiava, he was nowhere to be found.

PREVIOUS CONVICTION

On Aug. 10, 2014, Lilomaiava was sentenced to 28 months detention at the Territorial Correctional Facility (TCF), as a condition of his 7-year probation sentence, after pleading guilty to the amended charge of second-degree burglary, under a plea agreement with the government.

The government says Lilomaiava unlawfully entered a home in Ottoville with a male juvenile and stole several items and sold them.