Church of the Holy Cross vintage bells allegedly sold as scrap metal by thieves

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On September 22, 2025, a member of the Leone Catholic Church (LCC) contacted the Leone Police Substation (LPS) alleging that its church bells had been stolen.

The investigation into the matter later led to two suspects being charged with:

Count 1 & 5: Stealing, a class C felony punishable by a term of imprisonment not to exceed seven years, a fine of not more than $5,000, or an amount equal to twice the amount of gain from the commission of the crime up to a maximum of $20,000, or both imprisonment and fine;

Count 2 & 6: Burglary in the Second Degree, a class C felony punishable by a term of imprisonment not to exceed seven years, a fine of not more than $5,000, or an amount equal to twice the amount of gain from the commission of the crime up to a maximum of $20,000, or both;

Count 3 & 7: Trespass, a class B misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment of up to six months, a fine of up to $500, or both imprisonment and fine; and,

Count 4: Property Damage in the Third Degree, a class C felony punishable by a term of imprisonment not to exceed seven years, a fine of not more than $5,000, or an amount equal to twice the amount of gain from the commission of the crime up to a maximum of $20,000, or both.

The defendants’ bail was set at $20,000 each.

According to the court affidavits, filed on Nov 7, 2025, on September 22, 2025, a man (later identified as the reporter) called the LPS. He reported that two of the Leone Catholic Church's 100-year-old church bells had gone missing from the old Fa'asao & Marist school compound.

The reporter explained that the bells had been removed from the Church of the Holy Cross for remodeling and placed at the school compound across from the Catholic pastor's house.

The matter was referred to the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) on October 1, 2025, and the police officers and detectives turned over the tools recovered during their initial investigation.

The affidavit points out that it is well known in American Samoa that three scrap metal businesses accept a wide range of materials, including copper, aluminum, brass, and similar items.

The scrap metal business in Iliili (near the golf course) was visited by police. There, they met with the co-owner (Kyung Ok Kim) and her employee (Tran Hanh Diem). The photos of the missing bells were shown to them, and they stated that no one had brought in such items.

The investigation revealed that typically Diem weighs the scrap metal brought in, while the co-owner and her husband pack it into the shipping containers. At the time of their visit, no shipping container was observed in the scrap metal area or vicinity. Only small containers were seen on site, which were actively being used to package items brought in by individuals.

On the same date, Oct 1st, that the officers went to the Iliili scrap metal business, the officers also met with a village chief (matai) from Leone and conducted an interview.

According to the village matai, the bells were discovered missing about two weeks ago. However, he was just informed about it a week ago. At that time, he called  for all the untitled men (aumaga) to search within the village for the missing bells. Unfortunately, their search was unsuccessful.

However, during the search, the villagers mentioned the name Tarrant Hunkin (hereinafter, Hunkin) several times. The affidavit states that suspicion grew when Hunkin's name came up several times. He was living at his uncle's house, who was off-island. The uncle's house is located behind the old Marist compound and was separated from it by a concrete-and-wire fence.

A youth later discovered that the fence had been cut open to approximately the size matching the missing church bells. The village matai also mentioned that Hunkin is known as a drug user.

Hunkin was later interviewed and claimed he had no knowledge of the missing bells or the incident until he heard about it last week from the men. He then stated that he noticed a hole in the wire-mesh fence surrounding the compound, located behind his uncle's plantation. Hunkin further noted that the villagers were blaming him, but he honestly doesn't know who stole the bells.

On Oct 8th, the authorities went back to the Iliiili scrap metal company and this time met with the owner. The owner explained that he had just arrived the night before from Korea, and claimed he was not on island during September.

He said he did not recall receiving any church bells, but he would look out for anyone bringing them in and notify the local authorities. The business owner also clarified during the investigation that "if the bells had been bought in as scrap, they would have taken note of them if they were still intact as bells, but they could not do so if they were broken up.”

The owner also noted that the metal is shipped off-island as part of an arrangement with a Korean company. The manifests they arrange do not go into great detail about the pieces or items shipped. He also explained that the company does not provide receipts to customers nor does it keep any record of customer names.

While visiting the scrap metal business, the officers also showed photographs of the suspects. The owner acknowledged Hunkin and stated that he always comes by the company and that he has brought scrap metal with him before. The owner's wife also recalled that Hunkin bringing scrap metal to the company.

On October 10, 2025, the officers interviewed a man (hereinafter, Sio), who was identified as the person who found thebells and other items missing at the crime scene. Sio is the son of the Leone Catholic pastor.

According to Sio, he stated verbally that the LCC has three bells: Luisa (mother bell), Veronica, and Teresia (known as Luisa's children). Sio further explained that the three bells vary in size. The largest of the three was identified as Luisa, and the remaining two bells were slightly smaller in comparison to the mother bell. These bells were removed from the church during renovations on December 21, 2023. When the bells were removed, they were placed at the old Marist building while the new church is being rebuilt.

Furthermore, on Sept 12, 2025, Sio stated that other church members informed him that one of the bells was missing. As they went to investigate, they discovered a machete, a crowbar, and a wrench near the two remaining bells. He then collected the tools and took them to the pastor's house.

On Sept 13th, the church youth conducted a field day at the old Marist compound. At this time, one of the youth told Sio that they had found the small stolen bell, covered with a tin roofing iron, next to the mesh wire fence behind the building. Sio then went to check and noticed that someone had cut the mesh wire fence in a circular shape as big as the stolen bell. He also saw a plank of wood placed on the ground near the mesh wire fence, as if someone had tried to roll the bell to pass through it.

Sio then used the tin roofing iron that had been used to hide the bell to cover the cut fence, and the plank of wood to block the tin roofing iron to prevent anyone from crossing over.

He and other church members carried the bell the found back to its original location.

On Sept 14th, Sio and the other church members informed their high chief and the church Reverend of the discovery made the previous day. They showed them the photos of the tools, and the high chief instructed them to keep watch of the place.

On Sept 15th, they checked on the remaining two bells and found that they were still at the Marist old building.

However, on Sept 16th, Sio's cousin (hereinafter Travis) went to check the bells and discovered that another bell was missing. Sio stated that when Travis told him about it, he didn't think much of it because he thought the high chief might have moved it for safekeeping.

On the following day, the Reverend went to check the old Marist building and noticed that other bell was missing. He asked Sio whether the high chief had taken the other bell, and Sio replied, "Maybe." The Reverend told Sio to ask the high chief if he would come the next day for the morning mass, to be sure.

On Sept 18th, Sio asked the high chief whether any of his men had taken the bell, and the high chief said no. It was then that Sio realized the thieves had returned and taken the other bell.

At around evening time on Sept 18th, Sio and Travis went to check the hole they had covered and discovered it was still covered with the same materials they used before.

On Oct 26, 2025, the authorities received information from a confidential informant regarding an individual's statement admitting his involvement in stealing the bells with another individual.

Names were later revealed to be England Ene (suspect #1) and Hunkin (suspect #2). The next day, the officers proceeded to Ene's home, where his mother greeted them. Upon being asked about Ene's whereabouts, Mrs. Ene informed the officers that her son was asleep in a shack across from the field. Ene was requested to make a statement regarding the allegations and agreed to do so.

Suspect #1 was later transported to the LPS and, upon arrival, was interviewed. Ene was informed that he was not in custody and was free to discontinue the interview at any time, which he acknowledged and understood.

According to Ene, he recalls it was when he was helping Hunkin with yard work at his uncle's house and he went over to house and saw a maroon vehicle parked at suspect #2's uncle's house. Hunkin called out to him to get in the car as they were heading to get some food. Ene continued that, as he got into the car, he noticed a green object in the trunk, but he only saw part of it. Hunkin and his friend (the driver of the vehicle) stopped at a store in Iliiili and told him to go ahead and get some food because they had a "small job" to take care of. Hunkin told him they would come back and pick him up.

Ene also provided a written statement and a drawing of what he saw in the car's trunk. When Ene was shown a photo of the bell, he stated that it (green object) looked very similar to the top part of the bells.

On the same date, at a later time, Ene requested to change his statement. He then admitted that he and Hunkin had taken the bells. He confessed that the bells were taken on different dates. He also informed the officers that both bells were taken to the scrap metal place located in Iliiili.

Ene continued that for the first bell, they received about $140 in cash. He gave Hunkin $40, and he kept $80 after they purchased two packs of cigarettes.

For the second bell, they received a $190 cash payment, which he claimed he only received $50.00 from Hunkin.

Ene was unable to recall the specific dates on which the bells were removed from the compound and transported to the scrap metal business.

Additionally, Ene provided a second written statement and a hand-drawn sketch of the bell he claimed he saw. He was later released.

The officers interviewed Hunkin and informed him that he was not under arrest and had the right to terminate the interview at any time. Hunkin verbally stated that the only people involved were him and Ene. They took the first bell to the Iliili scrap metal and received $140 in cash. Ene went to the nearby store and bought two packs of cigarettes, gave him one pack and $40.

Hunkin also confessed that they also took the second bell to the same scrap metal place and received $190 cash. He then gave Ene $50. He noted that all this happened at the beginning of October, and the last time he saw Ene was during the sale of the second bell.

The investigation later revealed that the three bells in question are recognized as vintage bronze artifacts. The largest bell bears an engraving reading “1972”. All three bells exhibit signs of aging, including greenish discoloration, dents, and surface abrasions.

The church holds no official documentation regarding the origin or acquisition of the bells. However, an online search revealed that the price of such vintage bells may range up to $6,000 USD.

Ene, 22 years old, is a Samoa citizen while Hunkin, 26 years old, is an US national.

[Editor’s Note: An affidavit is a written statement confirmed by oath or affirmation for use as evidence in court. It is not a court decision. Under local law, defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty by the court.]