Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Vinitala Leulumoega was arrested during a public disturbance incident in Vaitogi last month and later charged for violating local drug laws after police discovered illegal drugs in his possession. During the interview, investigators became aware of a warrant for his arrest for his role in a burglary case two years ago.

The defendant, Vinitala Leulumoega, a.k.a Tala Leulu appeared in court last month for his initial appearance.

He is charged with unlawful possession of methamphetamine (meth) and unlawful possession of marijuana, both unclassified felonies, along with 3rd-degree assault, trespass and PPD, all misdemeanors.

Bail is set at $10,000.

According to the government case, the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) received a call on Mar. 24 at approximately 6:40p.m from a woman seeking police assistance after an intoxicated man damaged the windshield of her vehicle with an empty beer bottle.

The victim’s vehicle was parked on the side of the road in front of a store in Vaitogi. Several police officers responded to the call and met up with a female who introduced herself as the reporter and victim in this case.

Officers also observed a crowd of people gathered in front of the store next to a white pickup truck parked on the other side of the road.

According to the victim, she was inside the store shopping while her daughter and her granddaughter were inside the vehicle. Her daughter called her cellphone telling her that a man acting very strange was trying to open the driver’s door of their vehicle.

The victim immediately walked outside and saw a male individual holding a beer bottle in his right hand while trying to open the door to the driver’s side with his left hand.

She called out to him and asked him what he’s trying to do but the male turned around and swore at her, telling her she has no business asking about what he’s trying to do.

The victim told the male to get away from her car before she calls the police. That’s when the male individual struck the windshield of the victim’s car with the beer bottle and immediately ran to the other side of the road and disappeared.

Officers also interviewed the victim’s daughter who was inside the car the whole time that the incident was taking place. She told police that she called her mom’s phone to inform her about the situation after a male came to the car and attempted to open the door.

The next thing she noticed was that the male struck the windshield of their vehicle with the beer bottle he was holding and then ran away. The windshield was damaged and according to the victim, it will cost her $800 to fix it.

A man at the store identified the male individual as Tala, also known as Vinitala Leulumoega, the defendant in this case, who lives on the other side of Vaitogi.

Officers went to locate the suspect at the house pointed out by eyewitnesses — but he was not there. The couple who was at the house when police arrived told police that Vini is no longer living with them. He moved to his uncle’s house in Leone.

Police tried to locate the suspect but he was nowhere to be found.

Two weeks after the incident on Apr. 4, the suspect was finally arrested and was taken to the TPS for questioning. He was patted down before being taken in and during the body search, officers discovered a small stamp sized baggie containing a white crystalline substance inside his wallet, along with two hand rolled cigarettes containing a green leafy substance.

The defendant was Mirandized and he stated that he understood his rights and wished to speak to investigators about the incident.

The defendant first apologized for his action saying he was drunk that evening. He admits that he walked over to the vehicle and noticed that the engine was on. So he attempted to open the driver’s door, but a woman walked outside of the store and called out to him to get away from her vehicle. That’s when struck the car’s windshield with an empty beer bottle before he fled the scene.

When questioned about the drugs, the defendant admitted that the drugs found in his possession belonged to him. He bought them from a friend in Tafuna, he said.

During the interview, the defendant was informed of an arrest warrant for his involvement in a burglary case from last year.

THE BURGLARY CASE

On Dec. 31, 2020 a woman contacted the TPS to report that an unknown male who was later identified as VInitala Leulumoega broke into their residence in Iliili. Several police officers responded and met up with the reporter and she showed officers the point of entry — which was through a son’s room.

The reporter further stated to police that the person fled the scene after her son yelled out to him to get out of the house.

The reporter explained to officers that she saw Leulumoega allegedly crawl next to her 14-year-old son who was sleeping on the floor. He got up, screamed at Leulumoega and ran towards him but he took off running and jumped out of the window. He ran to the front door and saw Leulumoega and three other males running to the back of the house and disappearing into the bush.

Investigators interviewed the victim’s son regarding this incident. He was identified as J. T in the affidavit. According to J.T’s statement to investigators, the night of the incident as he was in his room he heard someone tapping on his window and therefore, he decided to sleep in the living room with his mom.

Moments later, he heard someone walking inside their house. He tried to look around but he did not see anything and he went back to sleep.

The son further stated to police that while he was sleeping, he heard a noise of someone walking inside the house again. He opened his eyes and saw a male standing at the side of the door. He sat up and yelled at the person to get out of the house. His parents also woke up and chased the male outside.

The man jumped out of the house through the window and disappeared.

A witness told police that one of the three young individuals who were with the suspect that night was her nephew. Officers questioned the nephew, who at the time was a 15-year-old juvenile, in the presence of his father and he admitted that he was standing outside of the victim’s house while Leulumoega went inside looking for money and food for them.

Leulumoega ran and called out to them to run because the woman was calling police. They ran without knowing what happened at the house.

In this case, Leulumoega  was charged with one count of 1st -degree burglary, a class B felony, punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than five years nor more than fifteen years; along with trespass, a class A misdemeanors.

Bail was set at $10,000.