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Plea agreement accepted in stabbing case

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ausage@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The court has accepted the plea agreement between the government and Malifa Aufaga, who is accused of stabbing a man with a knife during a drinking session earlier last year. Aufaga, who has been in custody since his arrest, unable to post a $20,000 cash bond appeared in High Court last week for a Change of Plea hearing.

Aufaga, 38, was accused of stabbing a man with a knife, following a verbal argument during a drinking session at the victim’s home in Tafuna. He was facing one count of first degree assault, however in a plea deal with the government, accepted by the court, he entered a guilty plea to second degree assault, which was amended from the original count.

According to court documents, the government claims that on Sept. 12, 2020, Aufaga was at his uncle’s house for a weekend party. The victim was the friend of Aufaga’s uncle’s son. It was near the end of the party when a verbal argument between Aufaga and the victim started, and Aufaga became angry with the victim.

Out of nowhere, the victim punched Aufaga in the face and pushed Aufaga hard towards the concrete wall. Aufaga grabbed a kitchen knife from the table, walked back to where the victim was standing and stabbed him on his shoulder twice before he punched the victim on the face.

The victim fell on the ground and yelled for help, however, instead of offering any assistance to the victim, Aufaga kicked him in the back and walked away. The victim was transported to the LBJ Hospital for treatment while Aufaga was transported to the Tafuna Police Substation for questioning.