Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On October 11, 2025, Leone Police Station received a distress call from a pastor reporting that he was allegedly assaulted by a man who was causing a disturbance in Nua & Seetaga.

The suspect was later arrested after fleeing the scene and charged with:

Count 1: Assault in the Third Degree, a class A misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to one year, a fine not to exceed $1,000, or both imprisonment and fine; and,

Count 2: Public Peace Disturbance, a class B misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to six months, a fine of $500, or both.

The defendant was held without bail.

Court records show that on Oct. 11th, at approximately 9:00 p.m., the suspect, Setu Sau, was reportedly causing a disturbance on the Nua & Se’etaga public highway.

The disturbance alarmed the village pastor (later identified as the victim/ reporter) and his family. The suspect was allegedly intoxicated and yelling profanities in Samoan and also shouting out a war cry (fa’aūmu) on the main road.

The victim approached the suspect on the main road and attempted to calm him down. However, the suspect refused to listen and punched the victim twice in the back of his head. The victim fell to the ground, and the suspect verbally threatened the victim, saying, “If you bother me again, I will beat you up”.

The suspect then fled the scene immediately while the victim’s family was chasing him.

The victim contacted the LPS and reported the incident. Authorities responded to the call and, upon arrival, met with the victim and his family, who appeared upset. The officers interviewed the victim and the witness at the scene.

According to the victim, at about 9:00 p.m., he heard someone shouting and yelling profanities on the main road. He went outside the house and confronted the suspect, but the suspect attacked him by hitting him twice in the back of his head. The victim continued that he fell to the ground and the suspect verbally threatened him.

The suspect fled while his family chased him, but he stopped them from pursuing the suspect.

A witness was interviewed, and she stated that she heard her father (victim) talking loudly to someone outside the house. She went outside to see what was going on, and she saw her father confronting the victim. She witnessed when the suspect hit her father and when he fell to the ground, they started running towards the suspect as he fled the scene.

After interviewing both parties, the officers left to locate the suspect.

Upon arrival at the suspect’s home, the officers called out his name but received no response. The officers asked the neighbors if they had seen the suspect; however, no one had seen him come back to the house since the afternoon. The officers continued canvassing the area but were unsuccessful.

At around 10:00 p.m., the officers returned to the suspect’s residence and saw him seated in front of his house. He was immediately apprehended and transported to the LPS for further investigation. The officers detected a strong odor of alcohol emitting from the suspect’s breath.

The suspect was Mirandized, but he was highly intoxicated.

He was booked and confined at the Tafuna Correctional Facility, to await the next available sitting of the District Court.

The defendant is identified as a 32-year-old U.S national.