Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The case of a 5th grade school teacher convicted of unlawful possession of an illegal substance was sentenced to a term of probation of 5 years after she went to claim a package at the U.S. Post Office containing nearly two pounds of crystal meth in July of 2017, which authorities estimate had a street value of about $90,000.

Associate Justice Fiti Sunia told the defendant, Mele Moimoi-Mapu that the only reason why the court did not send her to jail is the fact that she admitted to customs agents on the day of the incident that it was methamphetamine (meth) inside the package.

Moimoi-Mapu’s sentencing was continued from May after Sunia ordered that she go through the standing court procedure for all people convicted of unlawful possession of illegal drugs and that is a drug test on the same morning they appear for sentencing.

Moimoi-Mapu had not submitted herself for a drug test on May 18 and the court then ordered her to submit herself for a drug test the same morning she appeared for sentencing, and she had to submit herself for a drug test every week until she was scheduled to appear in court for sentencing.

The court also ordered Probation to keep a record of each weekly drug test with the defendant for the court to review.

Last week, the defendant appeared in court for sentencing and according to Probation, the defendant had complied with the court order and she submitted herself every week for a drug test. All of her drug tests were negative.

Moimoi Mapu was charged with one count of unlawful possession of meth with intent to distribute, a felony punishable by not more than 10 years imprisonment, or a fine of not more than $10,000 or both.

However, pursuant to a plea agreement with the government at the beginning of this year, the defendant pled guilty to the amended charge of unlawful possession of meth, a class D felony, punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to five years, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.

The court acknowledged the defendant’s statement made in court when she appeared for sentencing in May of this year.

The court stated that this matter was a failure of judgment where things happened and ended up in a criminal activity. According to the pre sentence report prepared by Probation, the defendant is a contributing member of society. She has held a number of jobs and is a hard working woman providing for her family and her young children.

The court sentenced Moimoi-Mapu to a term of imprisonment of 5 years. Execution of imprisonment was suspended and the defendant was placed on probation for 5 years subject to several conditions from the court.

She shall remain law abiding and visit the probation office once a month or anytime probation instructs her to visit. She shall submit herself for a drug test every 2 weeks for the first 90 days of her probation.

Moimoi-Mapu will serve a period of detention of 20 months at the Territorial Correctional Facility (TCF) and she will be credited for the time she served while awaiting the outcome of her case. The balance was stayed. She was also ordered to attend substance abuse counseling at the Department of Human and Social Service (DHSS) and pay a fine of $1,000 within the first 12 months of her probation.

The court stated that the moment the defendant was questioned about the package, she immediately revealed that the package contained meth, and that is a good sign.

When given the chance to speak last May, the defendant apologized to the court for her actions and begged for a second chance to be with her family especially her three children. She said she regrets her actions and takes full responsibility for what happened.

She explained to the court that she participated in this criminal action for several reasons. At the time she was having a drug problem and her parents had passed away. She was also terminated from her job after she took money from the church.

According to the defendant’s statement to the court, she was raising her children and it was very hard for her to come up with enough money to pay bills and to support her family.

She told the court that she’s not a perfect person and she tried to be a good mother for her children.

At the time she had two jobs, a 5th grade teacher at the Manulele Elementary School and she also worked part time as a bartender at a local hotel. She told the court that every time her 15-year-old child would ask her why she had to keep coming to the court — she didn’t have an answer for her.

She said she works hard to pay for her children’s school fees at the Pacific Horizon Elementary School, a private school.

She told the court that it was a bad decision that ended up with her before the court and she’s truly remorseful for what she did. She asked for a second chance so that she can continue to be with her children and family.

BACKGROUND OF THE CASE

Moimoi-Mapu was accused of receiving nearly two pounds of crystal meth in July of 2017 and she allegedly told police that she purchased the illegal drugs from an off island person, to be sold in the territory, as way to make fast money.

(The term “crystal meth” is short for crystal methamphetamine that is identified as one form of the drug methamphetamine.)

Based on court information the case against the defendant was the result of an incident in July of 2017 when customs officers suspected that illegal drugs were inside a package that Moimoi-Mapu had received through the Fagatogo Post Office. Customs officers at the Post Office had been alerted by a canine about the possible presence of drugs in the package.

Moimoi-Mapu allegedly did not know the person who sold her the meth nor did she ever meet the individual and she also does not know where in the world the person lives, according to court information.

Investigators reviewed the defendant’s Facebook page as part of the investigation as well as obtaining confirmation that Moimoi-Mapu had in fact communicated with the alleged seller on Facebook.