Court lenient with two convicted in stealing cases

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A young woman convicted of stealing a rental car while she’s on probation for another stealing conviction back in 2015 was given another chance by the High Court.

Theresa Luamanu appeared last week for sentencing and a disposition hearing. She was represented by Assistant Public Defender Rob McNeill while prosecuting the case was Assistant Attorney General Laura Garvey.

Luamanu was initially charged with one count of stealing, for appropriating a rental car belonging to Roy Hall, a class C felony punishable by imprisonment for up to seven years, a $5,000 fine, or pursuant to A.S.C.A 46.2101, a fine equal to twice the amount of gain fro the commission of said crime, up to a maximum of $20,000, of both such fine and imprisonment.

Under a plea agreement with the government, accepted by the court last month, Luamanu pled guilty to the amended charge of stealing, a class A misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment of up to one year, a fine of up to $1,000 or both.

By her guilty plea, Luamanu admits that on Nov. 21, 2017, she stole a rental car — by taking the keys without permission from the person who had rented it and crashing the car into a rock wall near a store in Iliili while racing with another car. She left the car and ran away, while telling the person who rented the car that it had been returned to the car rental agency.

When given the chance to address the court, Luamanu apologized for her actions and begged for one more chance to return home to care for her young children and her parents. She told the court that she’s truly remorseful and wants to pay for the damages she caused to the vehicle.

“I want to be a good mother for my children and I will do my best to change my life and look for a job to provide for my children and care for my parents. I promise that I will never violate any laws of the territory in the future,” Luamanu said.

Defense attorney, McNeill told the court that his client was a cook at a local restaurant before she was arrested in June of this year for the offense she committed over two years ago. He told the court that Luamanu is a good mother who provides for her children, and his client is willing to pay restitution for the damage to the rental car.

McNeill asked the court to adopt the recommendation by Probation and sentence his client to a term of probation. The prosecutor echoed the defense’s submission saying that the defendant is a suitable candidate for a probated sentence.

According to the court, the defendant is already on probation for 7 years after she was convicted for stealing in 2015. A condition of her probation was to remain law abiding. However, two years into her probation in Nov. 2017, she committed another serious offense by stealing a rental car.

For stealing the vehicle, the defendant was sentenced to two years probation subject to several conditions including continuing employment at her current job to pay for outstanding restitution and a fine from her previous case.

She was ordered to serve a period of detention of two months, which was time she has already served while awaiting the outcome of her case.

For her Disposition Hearing, the court did not revoke her probation but modified its conditions. The defendant was ordered to comply with conditions of both her previous matter and the new matter before the court.

The court reminded the defendant that if she violated any conditions of her probation, there would be no more chances for her.

WILSON TALOSAGA

A 23-year-old man who was convicted of stealing was released from custody last week, after the Court determined that the 12 months he served in jail while awaiting sentencing, was enough.

Wilson Talosaga, under a plea agreement with the government, pled guilty to the amended charge of stealing, a class C felony, punishable by not more than 7 years imprisonment, and/or a fine of not more than $5,000.

With his guilty plea, Talosaga admits that sometime during May last year, he stole cement and a tool box belonging to his neighbor.

During sentencing, Talosaga apologized to the government, the court, and people of American Samoa for his behavior and asked for forgiveness, also saying, “Please, I want to go home to my family.”

His parents and church pastor, all present in court, were in tears while Talosaga apologized.

His mother took the witness stand and asked the court for a light sentence for her son. The mother said that after the incident, they went with her husband to the victim’s home and apologized on behalf of her son for his actions. In December of last year, they went back to the victim’s home and gave them $500 for the items her son stole from them.

Talosaga’s mother’s account was confirmed by attorneys of both parties.

The defense attorney then asked the court to give Talosaga another chance. He said his client is only 23 years old, very immature, and he has advised him to think about his future. He noted his client is a suitable candidate for probation. The prosecutor echoed the statement.

The court said that while Talosaga is only 23, the pre-sentence report shows that he's had a prior run-in with the law.

He was then placed on probation for 5 years under certain conditions. He has to remain law abiding at all times, visit the probation office once a month, and serve 14 months at the TCF.

Talosaga will be credited the time he has already served; the balance of 6 months is stayed as long as he complies with all conditions of probation. Talosaga is also ordered to pay a $500 fine within 6 months, restitution of $541 and secure gainful employment.