Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — In December 2023, Tuna Salanoa was arrested for allegedly assaulting a man with a metal pipe.

He was charged with the following:

Count 1: Assault in the Second Degree — a class D felony punishable by a term of imprisonment of not more than five (5) years, a fine of up to $5000, or both; and,

Count 2: Public Peace Disturbance — a class B misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for six (6) months, a fine of $500, or both.

Bail is set at $5000.

On December 19, 2023, the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) was contacted by a woman who claimed that Mr. Salanoa had physically assaulted Punaoupu Fogavai (victim). She said that the victim was attacked by the defendant, who hit the victim's body about five times and once on the head with a metal pipe.

When officers arrived at the scene, the sister of the woman who reported the incident said that her sister was transporting the victim to the hospital to receive treatment for the wound on his head.

Officers investigated the matter, gathering details regarding what caused the altercation between Salanoa and Fogavai.

According to the affidavit, earlier in the day, a fight had broken out between Salanoa and another individual. Salanoa assumed that Fogavai was trying to strangle him when he grabbed him by the back of the neck, when in fact Fogavai said he was was trying to protect Salanoa. Blinded by his anger, the defendant went home and when he saw the victim passing his house, he grabbed a metal pipe and proceeded to assault the victim, according to the report.

Officers interviewed the victim at the hospital who provided a verbal statement. He stated that on December 18, 2023, at about 11:50pm, the suspect was involved in a fight. The victim stated that “he went to help him (Salanoa) out by grabbing his neck from behind and pulling him away from the fight and telling him to go home.”

 On December 20, 2023, officers located the suspect and found him at his home in Nu'uuli. He was then transported to the TPS for further investigation. He was Mirandized and willingly answered questions regarding the incident.

According to the defendant, “he got into a fight with another man when Fogavai grabbed his neck and pulled him away from the fight.

“He was angry that Fogavai pulled him from [sic] his neck so hard that he could not breathe.”

Salanoa explained that he went home to fix his injuries from the fight with the other man, “and he saw Fogavai walking on the road in front of his house.”

Because he was still upset by what Fogavai allegedly did to him, he admitted to beating Fogavai with a metal pipe.

The defendant was booked and confined at the Tafuna Correctional Facility (TCF) to await the next available sitting of the District Court.

The suspect is identified as a U.S. National.