Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A 34-year-old man with an outstanding arrest warrant was picked up by police last month and charged with unlawful possession of drugs after a man told authorities that his nephew bought two marijuana cigarettes and a glass pipe containing methamphetamine from the man.

When cops arrested the man, they discovered illegal drugs in his possession.

Alefa Brown, a.k.a “BROWNY” made his initial appearance in court last month.

The government has filed two separate criminal cases against Brown, who is also on probation for a felony conviction in High Court from 2017 where he was convicted for burglary and stealing.

In the first case, Brown is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute and one count of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, both unclassified felonies punishable by imprisonment between 5-10 years, a fine between $5,000- $20,000 or both.

In the second case, he is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, and unlawful possession of methamphetamine (meth), both felonies.

The court established bond at $10,000 cash for the first case; and $5,000 surety for the second case.

Defense attorney asked the court to reduce his client’s bail to $2,000 for both cases, but the prosecutor opposed. She argued that Brown is not new to the court system, and his actions in these two cases show the type of person he is. The court agreed.

When a police officer instructed Brown last month in the courtroom to sign a copy of the criminal complaint filed against him, Brown refused, saying all the allegations against him are not true and he wanted to know why he was arrested by police in the first place.

THE ALLEGATION

 According to the government, a man from Ottoville contacted police for assistance, after he found two marijuana cigarettes and a glass pipe containing meth inside his nephew’s wallet that was left inside his vehicle. The man told police he’s tired of his nephew’s routine — spending money to buy drugs from a man named “BROWNY” every time he gets paid.

The man further stated that when he confronted his nephew two months ago about a marijuana cigarette he found inside his vehicle used by his nephew, he (nephew) lied to him saying he had no idea whose marijuana cigarette was found inside the vehicle.

According to the man, when he inquired about the drugs he found in his nephew’s wallet, his also nephew lied to him saying he doesn’t know anything about the drugs. However, after he told his nephew that he’s going to call police regarding the drugs, his nephew then told him he bought them from his friend Browny, who is a bus driver.

The man told police that this is the same name he got from his other nephews who told him that there is a bus driver who comes around their area every Saturday morning selling drugs to anybody in the village including his nephew.

The man further stated to police that based on the information he received from his nephew and other young family members, Browny is the person who allegedly has supplied them with illegal drugs for over a year now and sometimes they get their drugs for free.

Samoa News understands that the man’s nephew was arrested two months ago and charged with third degree assault and private peace disturbance on the allegation that he assaulted another man during a drinking session.

An arrest warrant was issued for Brown following a report submitted by the DPS to the AG’s Office. Around 2:32p.m on Oct. 13th, 2021, police were on their way to locate Brown at his home in Ottoville, however, his wife informed officers that Brown is at work. While officers were patrolling the Tafuna area on the same afternoon, they observed Brown in front of a store in Tafuna, where they informed him of the warrant for his arrest.

Brown immediately turned around and ran to the other side of the road. He was later apprehended by officers and then transported to the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) for further investigation.

When he was patted down, a clear ziplock baggie containing what appeared to be green leafy material fell from the front right side of Brown’s pants.

Police also found a glass pipe containing a white crystalline substance residue, inside the right pocket of his pants.

The green leafy substance tested positive for THC, the main ingredient in marijuana, while the white crystalline substance found in the glass pipe tested positive for meth.

When questioned by investigators, Brown said that he received a phone called from a man that he wanted to buy drugs from him. He contacted his other friend in Vaitogi to see if he had any drugs left. He went to Vaitogi and picked up a small stamp size baggie containing the green leafy substance — marijuana, and a glass pipe containing meth and went back to his home. He then contacted his friend from Malaeimi to come to his place and pick up the stuff.

Brown has denied the accusation that he sells drugs. He said he bought drugs from a man in Vaitogi using his own money and gave it to his friend from Malaeimi. He told investigators that his friend from Malaeimi never pays him any money for the drugs he gives him because he did it for him as a friend.

BACKGROUND

Brown was one of three men the High Court sentenced to 28 months imprisonment back in July 2017, after they were convicted of burglarizing a home and a store in the Tafuna area.

Brown and his co-defendants were each convicted of first-degree burglary and stealing, both class C felonies.

The incident came to light when a woman whose house was burglarized saw a young girl wearing a T-shirt belonging to her daughter. When she was confronted about the T-shirt, the girl said it belonged to her brother, Lavea’i Tolai.

Tolai was one of Brown’s co-defendants.

When police searched Tolai’s home — Brown was there along with several stolen items including clothes, shoes, DVD players, cell phones, several power tools and a laptop. Most of the stolen items were returned to the owner.

Police also found two glass pipes commonly use to smoke meth inside Tola’i house during their search. Tolai told cops that the house belong to his  brother-in-law and the glass pipes also belonged to his brother-in-law, who was off-island at the time of the arrest.