Ads by Google Ads by Google

Two medium sized baggies of ‘ice’ part of the alleged haul after traffic stop

American Samoa District Court building
ausage@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The passenger in a blue truck where investigators allegedly found two medium sized baggies containing white crystalline substance, 3 hand rolled marijuana cigarettes and drug paraphernalia has been arrested and charged with unlawful drug possession.

Freddy Isaako made his initial appearance in District Court last week. He later waived his right to a preliminary examination and his case was bound over to High Court for arraignment.

Pretrial conference is now scheduled for Aug. 28th, 2020.

Isaako, 46, is charged with one count of unlawful possession of methamphetamine and one count of unlawful possession of marijuana, both unclassified felonies, punishable by imprisonment of 5-10 years, a fine between $5,000- $20,000 or both.

Bail is set at $10,000.

THE CASE

Isaako and another male, identified as Vineula Thomas were in a truck driven by Isaako’s girlfriend when patrol officers pulled them over in Nu’uuli around 8:32p.m on July 15th, 2020 for having no lights over the license plate.

As the officer was speaking to the driver, he noticed Isaako using his right foot to push something under his seat. Isaako was sitting on the passenger side. When Isaako moved his feet, the officer saw a glass pipe commonly used to smoke methamphetamine lying under Isaako’s foot on the floor.

That is when officers instructed all three people to exit the vehicle. The driver was told that the vehicle would be impounded at the Tafuna Police Station and all of them would be taken in for questioning. The driver and another male individual agreed while Isaako told the officer that he’s in a hurry to buy food for his children and he needs to go home.

Officers informed Isaako that he needs to comply and to come with them to the police station but Isaako continued to argue, saying that he has nothing to do with the stuff that was found under his foot. He told the officers, “These stuffs belong to the person who owns the vehicle.”

The person who owns the vehicle, according to the driver is her father-in-law.

After a long conversation with the officers, Isaako finally agreed to go to the TPS for further investigation. Before Isaako entered the police unit, officers observed him trying to reach into his rear pocket.  A body search was immediately conducted on Isaako and the other two individuals.

Nothing was found on the driver and the other male passenger. However, police discovered 3 medium baggies containing white crystalline substance inside Isaako’s rear pocket, along with paraphernalia including 10 empty small stamp-sized baggies commonly used to sell methamphetamine; a broken glass pipe commonly used to smoke meth and a lighter. An officer further searched Isaako’s left pocket and found 3 hand rolled cigarettes containing green leafy substance.

When asked about the drugs and paraphernalia discovered in his possession, Isaako responded by saying that he found the drugs and paraphernalia inside the truck when he jumped inside, he then picked the items up and put them inside his pocket.

Isaako further told police that he was suspicious that the drugs and paraphernalia belonged to the owner of the vehicle, but his only mistake was that he touched them and placed them inside his pocket.

Isaako offered more information to investigators. He told them that the man who owns the vehicle they were riding is allegedly involved in selling illegal drugs from his home. He knew it because the man gave him a marijuana hand rolled cigarette to smoke two days prior to this incident.

A further search of the vehicle found a glass pipe containing white crystalline substance. The glass pipe was under the passenger’s seat where Isaako was seated.

When asked about the glass pipe discovered inside her vehicle, the driver told investigators that she knew nothing about the drugs and paraphernalia. She said she suspected that everything belonged to her boyfriend, Isaako.

According to the driver, she was at her aunty’s house when Isaako and his friend came over and asked her for a favor, if she (driver) could transport them to their friend’s home in Tafuna. The driver told investigators that when Isaako returned from his friend’s home in Tafuna, she saw him holding a yellow envelope in his right hand. Isaako then put the thing that was in his hand inside his pant’s pocket.

Investigators also interviewed the other male passenger regarding the drugs that were found inside the vehicle. He told investigators that Isaako told him to come with him to his friend’s house in Tafuna to reload their stuff for the week. When asked what “stuff” they went to reload from Isaako friend’s house in Tafuna, the passenger said, “methamphetamine and marijuana”.

The driver was cited for several traffic citations.

The driver and the other male passenger were later released while Isaako was booked and transported to the Territorial Correctional Facility (TCF).