Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The two inmates charged and convicted of assaulting another inmate while inside the Territorial Correctional Facility (TCF) in March of 2020 received light sentences from the High Court.

The two inmates, Ryan Pite and Faafetai Lefatia III appeared in High Court recently for sentencing. Pite was represented by Assistant Public Defender, Ryan Anderson while Lefatia III was represented by Public Defender, Michael White. Prosecuting the case was Assistant Attorney General, Kristine Soule’.

Each defendant was initially charged with one count of 2nd-degree assault and one count of being armed with a dangerous weapon, both class D felonies, punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to five years, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.

However, under a plea agreement with the government, also accepted by the High Court, Pite pled guilty to 2nd-degree assault while Lefatia III pled guilty to the amended charge of 3rd-degree assault.

RYAN PITE’S CASE

When given the chance to address the court, Pite, a man with a long criminal history, apologized for his actions and begged for another chance from the court.

He also apologized to the victim, whom he called, “uso” and asked the victim to forgive him.

“I was tempted by the devil on that day and that’s why I committed this crime. I ask you my brother to please forgive me for what I did to you. I can’t correct the past but the mistake I made will help me to become a better person in the future,” said Pite.

His defense attorney, White asked the court for a probated sentence to run concurrently with the sentence his client is currently serving at TCF.

Chief Justice Michael Kruse told Pite that according to the Pre Sentence Report, he was drunk during the time of the incident. Pite replied, yes.

“Is there a bar there for you people?” Kruse asked.

Pite was silent.

Kruse told White that this incident happened a few years back and the court wants to know if this problem is still happening inside the TCF.

White responded, “It’s still happening.”

Kruse told Pite that the reason why he’s still in TCF is because of the crimes he’s committed while he’s in prison.

“Right now you would be a free man.”

When asked if he loves being in jail, Pite said, “no”.

Prosecutor Soule’ informed the court of Pite’s criminal history where he has been convicted for several crimes while serving his sentence behind bars. She told the court that Pite is not new to the court system and he has received numerous chances from the court every time he has appeared for sentencing.

Soule’ asked the court for a maximum sentence.

However, the court suspended Pite’s sentencing for 3rd-degree assault, for a period of 5 years, with the caveat that the defendant shall comply with all orders of the court.

The defendant shall be law abiding and shall comply with all laws of American Samoa and the warden’s regulations.

The court told the defendant that the bottom line is, if he doesn’t comply with all conditions, he will be back in court and that’s when he’ll know if his sentence is concurrent or consecutive.

FAAFETAI LEFATIA III

Faafetai III apologized for his action and asked the court for a light sentence. He also apologized to the government for violating the law and mostly to the victim in this case, Auau Papalii for what happened.

He asked Papalii to forgive him for what he did and he’s truly remorseful for his actions.

He told the court that he wanted to go home to do something good for his parents and family. He said he has learned from his mistake and he takes full responsibility for what happened.

His defense attorney, Anderson told the court that his client is behind bars for a pending criminal case in High Court, and he has been in custody for almost two years while awaiting the outcome of this case.

The prosecutor echoed Anderson’s submissions and asked to sentence Lefatia III to time served.

The court agreed and sentenced Lefatia III to a term of one year imprisonment and $1,000. He will be credited for the time he has served during his pretrial detention.

Lefatia III will continue to be held in custody for his High Court matter, which is still pending.

TWO DRUNK INMATES ASSAULT ANOTHER INMATE INSIDE TCF

The case came to light when the Tafuna Police Station received a call from Captain Ta’afua of the TCF, requesting police assistance regarding a male inmate who was seriously assaulted inside the Bravo Unit of the TCF compound by two male inmates.

Police officers responded to the call and met up with several TCF guards who were working the night shift.

Officers were notified that the victim’s name is Auau Papalii, another inmate who was in custody in a pending case before the High Court.

EMS personnel were notified when DPS officers arrived at TCF, and Mr. Papalii was transported to the LBJ Hospital for further treatment while they continued their investigation.

According to one witness who was interviewed by investigators, the victim was inside his holding cell sleeping when inmate Lefatia III came and woke him up, inviting him to Ryan Pite’s cell so that they could have lunch and discuss some issues regarding an event that had happened two Sundays ago.

Lefatia III and the victim arrived at Pite’s cell that contained another inmate by the name of Lauolefiso Naea, and the four men — the victim, Lefatia III, Pite and Naea — then sat down and talked for about 5 minutes. It was during this conversation that Pite allegedly swung a piece of lumber at the victim, which he dodged.

The victim tried to stand up in an effort to walk outside of Pite’s cell, and it was at that time that Lefatia III punched him in the face causing him to fall. Lefatia III continued to assault the victim by punching him in the face.

Pite then jumped in and assisted Lefatia in assaulting the victim. The victim was screaming for help but nobody came to rescue him.

At one point, Lefatia III and Pite stopped their alleged assault on the victim, and rested to catch their breath while the victim was still lying on the concrete floor with blood coming from his facial area and his head.

A few moments later, Lefatia III and Pite continued with their assault on the victim while the third inmate, Naea was yelling profanities and making a ‘war cry’.

At one point, Pite allegedly kicked the victim in the facial area, which caused the victim to stop moving. It was then that the third inmate, Naea, told Lefatia III and Pite to stop what they were doing because it looked like the victim was dead.

Investigators requested Cpt. Taafua and Lt. Lafaele of the TCF to bring inmates Lefatia III and Pite to the front office for further investigation. Lt. Lafaele then informed investigators that it was not safe to bring the two inmates to the front officer for questioning due to the fact that both inmates were heavily intoxicated.

It was confirmed during the investigations that all three inmates, Lefatia III, Pite and Naea were under the influence of alcohol during the alleged beating of the victim, Mr. Papalii.

Investigators interviewed three TCF guards regarding the alleged beating, who confirmed to investigators that Lefatia III, Pite and Naea were under the influence of alcohol during the alleged beating — and they (the guards) had no idea where or how the three inmates got their alcohol.

Furthermore, TCF guards also told investigators that there was a video recorded by inmate Naea on Pite’s cellphone of the alleged assault. The cell phone was not recovered by investigators.

When asked by investigators about the incident, inmate Naea told police that it was a plan by Lefatia III and Pite to assault the victim, because the victim assaulted their relative in Malaeimi.

The victim was transported to the LBJ for further treatment. Because of the lack of available officers to stay with the victim at the LBJ, he was rescheduled to appear at the LBJ Dental Clinic the following day.

The victim was admitted to the LBJ Medical Ward after undergoing surgery that required his jaw be wired closed. The victim also suffered a big open cut at the back of his head and 9 stitches were needed to close the wound.

Pite is serving a 30-year sentence at the TCF after being convicted of various crimes including stealing, robbery, assault and escape from confinement.

In 2013 while serving his sentence, Pite was convicted of an assault charge after he assaulted another inmate with a metal pipe, following an argument inside Pite’s holding cell.

Lefatia III on the other hand has a pending case in High Court for unlawful possession of illegal drugs and weapons.

Two months after his initial appearance in March of 2020, Lefatia appeared before Acting Associate Justice Elvis P. Patea in District Court for a Disposition Hearing for not being in compliance with the court’s order on his 12 months probation from 2019.

During his hearing, Patea ordered Lefatia III to serve 90 days at the TCF for violating conditions of his probation from 2019.