Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — One of the four man involved in a fight outside of a restaurant in Tafuna last month was arrested and charged with felony assault. During his arrest, cops found drugs in his pocket.

Kolia Afemata made his initial appearance in Court last month. He is charged with unlawful possession of methamphetamine (meth) and unlawful possession of marijuana, both unclassified felonies, punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than five not more than ten years, a fine of not more than $20,000; along with 2nd- degree assault, a class D felony.

Bail is set at $10,000.

THE CASE

The government claims that on June 19, 2022, the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) received a call from a man requesting police assistance after a fight that had occurred outside of a restaurant in the Tafuna area.

Officers arrived and observed four males leaning against a concrete wall in front of the restaurant. Several bystanders pointed towards the four men and told officers that the four had gotten into a fight whereby one of them struck another causing him to fall to the ground — while the other two men attempted to stop the other two fighting.

All four men were apprehended and transported to the TPS for questioning. Before placing all four men inside police units, they were patted down for weapons or contraband.

During a body search, three of the men were cleared, however, Afemata was not. A glass pipe containing a white crystalline substance and a small stamp sized baggie containing a green leafy substance were found inside his pocket.

At the TPS, Afemata was interviewed by investigators inside one room while the other three men were interviewed separately in another room. After the interview, the three men were each charged with 3rd- degree assault and PPD.

Afemata, who was Mirandized and agreed to make a statement about what happened, stated that the four were waiting for their food, when his friend and his brother-in-law’s friend got into a fight and he and his brother-in-law jumped in to stop them.

When questioned about the illegal substances found inside his pocket, Afemata told investigators that the glass pipe containing meth and the small baggie containing marijuana belonged to his brother-in-law’s friend. He stated that as he was fighting, he saw something fall from the man’s pocket. He picked it up from the ground and placed it inside his pocket without knowing what is was.

He was shocked when cops searched his pocket and discovered that it was meth and marijuana.

Afemata was booked and confined at the Territorial Correctional Facility (TCF).

TAOUMA LEALOFI

A man accused of assaulting his 15-year-old cousin was arrested by police and he’s now being charged. When questioned by police, the defendant, Taouma Lealofi stated that the reason why he did this to his cousin was to teach him a lesson on how to respect his elders.

Lealofi appeared in Court last month for his initial appearance.

Lealofi is charged with one count of unlawful possession of meth, a felony, punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than five nor more than ten years, a fine of up to $20,000, along with one count of abuse of a child (involving domestic violence), a class D felony, punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to five years, a fine of up to $5,000, but not less than $150, or both.

Bail is set at $10,000.

If he posts bond, Lealofi was ordered to find another place to stay and not have any direct or indirect contact with the victim and his family.

THE CASE

On June 7, 2022, several police officers proceeded to an unrelated call in Mapusagafou. As responding officers were about to leave the scene, they heard a loud scream from approximately 40 feet from where they were standing.

Officers were notified by a bystander that the loud scream was coming from the area close to the store ahead of them. They also observed flashing lights coming from the same directions.

 Officers rushed to the area where the loud screaming was coming from and they met up with a young boy while other officers met up with a male by the name of Taouma Lealofi, who was later identified as the defendant in this matter.

The young boy was later identified as the 15-year-old victim in this case and he’s the cousin of Lealofi, who is a 27-year-old male.

Officers quickly observed that the victim was fearful, shaking and shivering while at the same time trying to explain what happened.

The victim told officers that he went with his older cousin Lealofi to buy food for their family. Lealofi lives next to the victim’s house in Mapusagafou.

The victim said that while he was inside the store shopping, Lealofi approached him and told him to give him (Lealofi) $20 to pay the money he owes to his friend. The victim, however, refused.

According to the victim’s statement to officers, Lealofi slapped him in the face inside the store three times while he was trying to push Lealofi away, but he (Lealofi) continued to assault him.

When they got outside the store, the victim stated that Lealofi took him to the side of the store where there was no surveillance and assaulted him.

A male adult was present when the incident happened and later told officers that he saw the assault by Lealofi of the victim outside the store.

Another witness, a woman, said she saw the defendant slap the victim in the facial area in the store, and she also saw the defendant push the victim outside of the store and that’s when she yelled at the defendant to stop.

Lealofi was apprehended and prior to being transported to the TPS for questioning was patted down. During the body search, a glass pipe containing a white crystalline substance was found in his possession. The substance was later tested and was positive for meth.

At the TPS, Lealofi was Mirandized he made a statement.

Lealofi admitted assaulting his cousin by slapping him in the face and choking his neck because he wanted to teach him a lesson on how to respect older people. Lealofi further stated that it was the victim who started everything when he yelled at him (Lealofi) to get out of his face.

When question about the glass pipe containing meth, Lealofi said the glass pipe belonged to him.

APELU FALANIKA

Apelu Falanika, 26, was arrested last month after he allegedly entered a rental apartment of a family home in Happy Valley at night. During his arrest, officers discovered illegal drugs in his pocket.

Apelu Falanika made his initial appearance in court last month.

He is charged with one count of unlawful possession of meth, a felony, punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than fives years nor more than ten years, a fine of up to $20,000, or both; trespassing and one count of 3rd- degree property damage, both class A misdemeanors.

Bail is set at $5,000.

The government’s attorney informed the court that they would be filing additional charges later this month after police completed their investigation.

Falanika is scheduled to appear in court next week for a Status Hearing.

According to the government’s case, a man and his female partner contacted the TPS for assistance after the female partner found a man inside her house uninvited. Before the female partner called police for assistance, she first called her boyfriend who lived in Malaeimi. The boyfriend arrived at the scene before cops arrived.

Police arrived and observed a young man sitting outside of the house while a man and a female were standing beside him.

The woman who reported the case told police that when she heard a loud noise from the back of the house she went to check. She was shocked when she saw a skinny looking man standing inside the kitchen holding a beer can in his right hand. The woman called out to her neighbor for assistance who immediately responded and stopped the man from fleeing.

The man found inside the house was later identified as the defendant in this case.

Falanika was apprehended at the scene and transported to the TPS for questioning. Prior to transportation, he was patted down, and during the search, officers discovered inside his rear pocket a glass pipe containing a white crystalline substance, which later tested positive for meth.

At the TPS, when questioned about the glass pipe containing meth, Falanika said the pipe belonged to him.

When asked about the allegation that he entered the family’s home uninvited, Falanika said he thought he was inside his girlfriend’s house. He quickly apologized to police for his action and said that he was wrong and very intoxicated.