Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On August 15, 2025, the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) received a call regarding a domestic dispute in Vaitogi.

The suspect was later arrested and charged with:

Count 1: Private Peace Disturbance (DV), a class C misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to fifteen days, a fine of $300, or both imprisonment and fine; and,

Count 2: Assault in the Third Degree (DV), 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.

(Samoa News has withheld the names of those involved to protect the identities of the minors.)

According to the court affidavit, on Aug. 15th, at around 10:51 p.m., TPS received a phone call from a man (the reporter). He requested police assistance regarding an alleged domestic dispute involving a family in Vaitogi.

Police officers responded to the call and, upon arrival at the road near a family residence, they saw two minors running towards the responding units. A drunk man was chasing them down. The officers stopped immediately and aided the minors by apprehending the drunk individual (later identified as the suspect).

An investigation later revealed that the suspect is the stepfather of the minors.

The suspect was visibly intoxicated and had a strong smell of alcohol emitting from his body and breath. He was placed inside the police unit while the other officers proceeded to find the mother of the young children.

The mother of the children (later identified as the victim) was seen alongside her kids, where they were placed in a separate unit and transported to the TPS for further investigation.

Upon arrival at the station, the suspect was Mirandized, to which he understood and agreed to provide a verbal statement; however, he later refused to give a written statement.

According to the suspect, he claimed that the victim was trying to leave with her kids. As a result, he alleged he grabbed her behind her neck and tried to force her to come back to the house. The suspect also admitted to chasing the minors down because he wanted to bring them back to the house.

The victim was also interviewed and stated that the suspect was intoxicated when he arrived at their residence. She explained that they got into an argument regarding the suspect’s paycheck.

The victim continued that “the suspect then blamed his problems on her and started to get rowdy and physical with her by grabbing her shirt collar and pulling her around by her shirt while yelling profanities.”

The victim stated that this is not the first time this has happened, and she no longer feels safe, which resulted in her taking her kids and leaving the house.

When they left the house, the suspect caught up to them and got physical with her again, and punched her in the forehead.

The victim had no visible injuries and refused service to be treated by the EMS.

One of the minors was also interviewed, and he stated that he was in his room when he heard noises coming from outside their residence. He went outside and saw the suspect collaring his mother while he cursed at her in Samoan.

The minor further stated that when they left the house to go to their aunt’s home, the suspect caught up to them and collared his mother again and struck her in the forehead. The suspect also got angry at them (the kids) and chased them, but he was unable to catch them.

The suspect 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 30-year-old citizen of Samoa.