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Samoan man in Alaska sentenced to 57 months in jail

U.S. Federal District Court House, Anchorage, AK
reporters@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A Samoan man, with a criminal history and who resides in Alaska was sentenced last Friday by the federal court in Anchorage to 57 months in prison and three years of supervised release “for being a felon in possession of a firearm.”

According to court documents, on July 31, 2020 Ronald Fetuao Maefau, 45, of Anchorage drove a car to an Anchorage apartment complex and began firing multiple rounds into one of the units.

He then proceeded to drive away. Later the same day, Anchorage police made a traffic stop of the car used in the apartment shooting and took the driver, Maefau, in for questioning.

After obtaining a search warrant for the vehicle, law enforcement found a Glock pistol in the glove compartment, .45 ammunition and multiple spent .45 caliber cartridge casings.

A trace on the firearm indicated that it had been reported stolen. Prosecutors said Maefau had multiple prior felony convictions, including attempted murder, which made it illegal for him to possess a firearm.

Maefau pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm in March 2021.

 “Maefau’s violent criminal history and recent dangerous conduct shooting a gun into a dwelling illustrate for all of us the importance of enforcing this offense,” said U.S. Attorney John E. Kuhn Jr., of the District of Alaska in a news release and commended the federal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Anchorage Police Department and the federal prosecutor “for their efforts to protect Alaskans.” 

ATF Seattle Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jonathan T. McPherson is quoted in the same statement saying that the “callousness of Mr. Maefau’s actions clearly warrant this sentence,” — handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy M. Burgess.