Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On December 21, 2024, a man was reported to allegedly cause a disturbance at a nightclub and also assaulted the security guard.

Senetenari Williams was arrested and later charged with:

Count 1: Public Peace Disturbance, a class B misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to six months, a fine of $500, or both; and,

Count 2: Assault in the Third Degree, a class A misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to one year, a fine of $1,000, or both.

The defendant’s bail was set at $1,000.

According to the court affidavit, on Dec. 21st, at about 8:00 p.m., Senetenari Williams (suspect) was causing a peace disturbance at the Flame’s Nightclub. The suspect was allegedly yelling out profanities and shouting war cries (fa’aūmu).

An investigation revealed that the suspect was warned by the nightclub’s security guards numerous times before he was told to leave the club. Trying to escort the suspect out of the club, he refused to leave.

One of the security guards (later identified as the victim) grabbed the suspect by the arm and walked him towards the front door. The suspect resisted and threw a punch at the victim and missed. The suspect threw a second punch and hit the victim in the right eye and followed by another punch where it left redness in the victim’s eye.

When officers arrived at the scene, the suspect was already apprehended by other officers who arrived at the scene first. The suspect was transported to the TPS.

Upon arrival at the TPS, the victim was interviewed where he verbally stated that a party started around 2:00 p.m. and they had been warning the suspect about shouting war cries in the nightclub. The victim stated that despite the warning, the suspect continued to shout out war cries followed by profanities. At around 8:00 p.m., the party ended and the club was open to the public to enter the club and the suspect was out of control.

Furthermore, the victim explained that he approached the suspect and told him that he must leave because he was too intoxicated to be around the public. The suspect refused to leave, and as a result he and another security grabbed the suspect and escorted him to the exit door.

The suspect tried to fight off being escorted out and when they were almost at the exit door, the suspect turned around and threw a punch at him and missed. The suspect threw two more punches which landed on the same eye so he let him go and walk out.

The other security guard (witness) was also interviewed where he corroborated the victim’s statement.

Upon arrival at the station, the suspect was Mirandized where he understood and opted to make a statement and answer questions.

According to the suspect, he was enjoying the night with his co-workers when the security guards escorted him out. He also admitted that he yelled out the war cries and profanities because he was mad at the security guards for ripping his new shirt when they escorted him out. He also stated that he remembered throwing a punch once but it missed.

The suspect was booked and later transported to the Tafuna Correctional Facility to be confined awaiting the next available sitting of the District Court.

The defendant is identified as a 28-year-old citizen of Samoa.