Brawl leads to arrest of village mayor

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On June 5, 2025, police officers responded to a call of an alleged disturbance in the villages of Masausi and Sailele — the brawl between the village men led to the arrest of a village mayor.

Pete Tuitea was charged with:

Count 1: Public Peace Disturbance, a class B misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to six months, a fine of $500, or both imprisonment and fine;

Count 2: Assault in the Third Degree, a class C misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to fifteen days, a fine of $300, or both;

Count 3: Unlawful Discharge of Arms, a class A misdemeanor punishable by a term of imprisonment for up to one year, a fine of $1,000, or both; and,

Count 4: Possession of Unlicensed Arms, a class A misdemeanor punishable by a term of imprisonment for up to one year, a fine of $1,000, or both.

The defendant’s bail was set at $2,500.

According to the court affidavit, on June 5th, the East Police Substation received a call from a woman reporting a disturbance. An investigation later revealed that a .22 caliber rifle had been unlawfully discharged.

Police officers responded to the call and upon arrival, they observed about five to six guys walking up to a residence — the men were later identified as men from Sailele village.

The police officers met and interviewed the two men who own the residence where the loud music and disturbance occurred. The men provided the same verbal statement saying that the village mayor confronted one of them in an angry manner for the loud music while the village was resting.

Pete Tuitea (the suspect) got into a verbal argument with one of the men who owns the house which escalated into a two on one fist fight. Moreover, the suspect left the residence and came back with three other guys from the village and a physical fight amongst each other ensued.

While interviewing both parties, men from the village were seen walking back down to the village of Masausi heading towards Sailele.

In doing so, the Sailele men were heard causing a disturbance and throwing rocks at a bus stop which caused the Masausi men to retaliate. Both parties were throwing rocks at each other and yelling profanities, which alarmed the village of Masausi.

When the officers left the residence to locate the suspect (village mayor), they heard a loud noise that sounded like a gunshot coming from the Masausi village. When the officers arrived where the noise came from, they observed a group of men from Sailele running on the public road towards their village and yelled out that a man had discharged a gun and yelled at them while the Masuasi men were running the opposite side.

Authorities discovered a man, “about 6’ 2 300 lb”, laying on the floor [sic] covered with blood.

Police then contacted the EMS for assistance while the other officers sought out the suspect. While walking into the Masausi village, the suspect walked towards the officers and gave a brief verbal statement.

According to the suspect, earlier that night, he called one of the men in the said home about their loud music but he used profane words towards him during the call. He then went to the man’s residence and informed the homeowner to turn the music down because people are sleeping. However, the man got angry and yelled profanities at him which made him mad; and the said man and another family member jumped him which led him to bring three other guys from his village to retaliate.

Moreover, the suspect was asked if had any knowledge of the gunshot and he spontaneously uttered that he only discharged his gun to scare the Sailele men who were causing a disturbance and throwing rocks at the bus stop. The suspect further stated that he had no intention of using the gun to cause physical injury to anyone.

The officer asked for the whereabouts of the rifle and the suspect stated that it was at home and he was going to get it. It was later revealed that the rifle was not licensed.

The suspect was apprehended and brought in with his .22 rifle for further investigation where he was later booked and confined at the Tafuna Correctional Facility to await the next available sitting of the District Court.

The defendant is identified as a 33-year-old U.S National.

(Samoa News notes that the affidavit does not offer any further information on the injured 300-lb man.)