Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man from Samoa convicted of trying to kill his sponsor after his sponsor used up all his FEMA check, was sentenced to serve 5 years at the Territory Correctional Facility (TCF), a straight sentence.

Savelio Vaimoe, also known as Vaimoe Seumau appeared in court last week for sentencing. He was initially charged with one count of 1st degree assault, a class A felony, punishable for life or 10-30 years imprisonment; and attempted murder in the second degree, a class B felony, punishably by imprisonment of up to 30 years.

However, under a plea agreement with the government, also accepted by the court in January of this year, Vaimoe pled guilty to the amended charge of 2nd degree assault, a class D felony, punishable by imprisonment of up to 5 years, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.

By his guilty plea, the defendant admits that in April of 2018, he assaulted his sponsor the victim in this case, who is also his brother-in-law.

He further admits that on the day of the incident, he approached his sponsor 'several times' to inquire about the FEMA check and was given the run-around until he was told that his sponsor's niece had taken the check with her off island. Vaimoe became upset that his sponsor (the victim) had failed to share with him a portion of the $11,000 FEMA check that was issued for damages sustained to the home Vaimoe and his family had occupied during Tropical Storm Gita last year.

Vaimoe walked from Asili to Leone with a backpack containing a knife and a 2.5 gallon bottle of pesticide. Vaimoe caught a bus to Faleniu to the victim's residence.

He entered the house, found the victim sleeping, and then allegedly used the knife to make two "slicing motions" on the victim's neck.

Following the second slice, the victim awoke and that's when Vaimoe "fled the scene". He took a back road and was thinking of drinking the pesticide to end his life, but he came upon a church, which he entered and told the congregants who were there, that he had just killed a man and he needed to go to the police station.

When given the chance to address the court, Vaimoe, who has been in custody since his arrest in 2018, apologized to the court for his action and begged for a second chance to return home to care for his wife and children. Emotionally, Vaimoe stated to the court that his terrible mistake caused him to be separated from his wife and children, and he wished he could turn the time back so that he could fix what happened.

He apologized to his family especially his brother-in-law (the victim) for what happened. He said that he had no intention of doing it, but it just happened and he was unable to control his anger at the time.

The defense attorney asked the court for a probated sentence for his client, saying his client was a family man who worked very hard to provide for his family, however, it was the sponsor’s action that changed everything in his client’s life.

The defense attorney also confirmed to the court that the defendant’s family member went to the Immigration Office and filed a petition to renew the defendant’s immigration status, which was also confirmed by the prosecutor.

The prosecutor recommended a probated sentence saying that Vaimoe is a suitable candidate for a probated sentence.

After reviewing submissions from both parties, the Pre Sentence Report (PSR) and also the statement by the defendant, the court stated that the defendant’s conviction stems from an incident where he was involved in a disagreement with another person (victim) over funds. The defendant took matters into his own hands used a knife and attempted to cut the victim. However, he later changed his mind and immediately ran away from the scene.

The court stated that due to the victim’s action, the defendant and his family were affected and later became homeless.

The defendant believed that the funds were for him and his family to build a new home after their old home was destroyed by the cyclone.

The court made it clear that there was no doubt that the circumstance (sponsor taking all the money) pushed the defendant to the action he took, however, nothing was presented to the court to prove that the defendant’s action was justified under the law.

The court told the defendant that he deserved to be punished because of his action against the defendant.

According to the court, this is the first case where someone tried to kill a sponsor.

While American Samoa has immigration laws and sponsor’s responsibility, the victim’s fault does not justify that someone can take someone’s life or attempt to take someone’s life.

For all these reasons, the court sentenced the defendant to a term of imprisonment of 5 years, a straight sentence. Upon release from TCF, the court orders that the defendant shall depart the territory and remain outside of its border.

The court noted that they are mindful about the situation of the defendant’s family and also the immigration process after his family filed for his immigration renewal. For these reasons, the court will take up Vaimoe’s matter for a Status Hearing in 6 months time to see if both parties have come up with a solution with regard to the defendant’s immigration status.

The court advised that it was the victim’s action that caused his action, however, there are laws that prohibit this type of behavior.

Vaimoe is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 26, 2021 for his Status Hearing.