Court Report

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A woman contacted the Tafuna Police Substation on October 16, 2023, reporting that she had been assaulted by her husband who had punched her in the head and face. Officers responded to the call in Nu’uuli and while making their way to the residence, they were waved down by an unknown female on the side of the road. 

The woman identified herself as the victim, and briefed officers on the situation. She told officers that her husband, the alleged assailant, was at the back of their house. 

Officers were directed by the victim to her house where they observed the husband in front of the house. Both officers then approached the suspect and asked him what happened, and he replied that he got into a misunderstanding with his wife. The suspect was then apprehended and transported to the TPS for further investigation. 

Testimony from the victim states that the husband was accusing her of having an affair with one of the church members. She said that she had to attend a meeting at the church on the same day, and when she returned, her husband started an argument with her. 

As their argument ensued, her husband allegedly became upset and punched her on the head and in the face more than seven times with a closed fist.

In addition, the victim states that her husband assaulted her in the living room while her three kids were watching and witnessed what was happening. The victim also claimed that her husband threatened to kill her the night before, but she managed to run outside of the house with her phone to call the police for help. 

Medical assistance was offered to the victim, but she refused. Upon arrival at the TPS, officers Mirandized Dion Te’o who acknowledged he understood his rights and provided a verbal statement only. 

According to the suspect, he claimed that his wife is having an affair and that it was just a misunderstanding between him and his wife. The suspect also admitted that during their altercation, he punched his wife twice in the head with a closed fist and threatened to kill her the night before as a joke. Te’o was booked and then confined to the Tafuna Correctional Facility until he could be arraigned. 

Te’o is being charged with five domestic violence charges — one count for assault in the third degree, one count for private peace disturbance, and three counts for endangering the welfare of a child.

Bail for Te’o was set at $5,000.

MAN JAILED AFTER ALLEGED SERIES OF BEATINGS OF HIS WIFE

A second domestic violence case was reported on October 16, 2023 when a woman contacted the TPS, reporting that her husband, Oliva Vito, had assaulted her at the old Argosy University building in Ili’ili. Responding to the call, officers arrived at the scene and met with the victim who briefed them on the incident. 

According to the woman, her husband accused her of having an affair with her own father. After dropping off her father at the market, the man asked her “what was going on between her and her father” because he saw the victim’s father touching her backside. 

The victim says she asked him why he would think like that, but the suspect allegedly became furious and started swearing at her in Samoan and calling her a liar. The man kept asking his wife if it was true that she’s having an affair with her father, to which she kept telling him it’s not. In addition, he also allegedly threatened her saying the moment he finds out it’s true, that he would kill her. 

Further reports from the victim say that the suspect drove them from Fagatogo and then made a turn into the Industrial Park, where he parked near the tennis court. He then then allegedly locked the doors, rolled up the windows and started punching her in the face and chest with a closed fist, leaving a bump on her head, which left her cheeks numbed. 

The victim states that she recalls being punched in the face more than six times and about three times on her chest. She also said that she tried to get out of the vehicle, but couldn’t because the suspect was restraining her. 

After he punched her, they left the tennis court to drop her off at work. When they arrived at her workplace, she told him to leave the car as the vehicle is a rental car that’s under her father’s name. The suspect refused and told her to get out of the vehicle, but she didn’t. The suspect allegedly then punched her face with a closed fist twice, while also swearing at her. 

The victim says that she got out of the vehicle, at which point he then struck her with the car while driving away. A security guard from the victim's workplace tried to stop him, but was unsuccessful. The victim then contacted the TPS to report the incident. 

Later, the victim was transported to the TPS to be seen by EMS for a medical checkup. The victim sustained numbness on her facial area towards her mouth, pain on her head, redness in the chest area, and pain in the left side of her waist going down to her knee. 

DPS officers put out an all points bulletin on the vehicle to be impounded at the nearest police station if seen. Later on the same date at 05:06 PM, the Fagatogo Police Station called and reported to the TPS that the suspect had turned himself in at the FPS. 

Officers from TPS then made their way to FPS, where they took him into custody.

When picked up, the suspect further notified officers that there was paraphernalia containing ice in the vehicle. The Vice and Narcotics unit were then contacted to inventory the vehicle before transporting the suspect to the TPS. 

Upon arrival at TPS at 06:25 PM, Vito was Mirandized and waived his rights and also made a verbal and written statement. According to his statement, the suspect told officers he assumed that his wife was having an affair with her father, as he saw his father-in-law touching his wife’s butt the night before the incident. 

He said he approached his wife and asked her about what he saw, but his wife told him her father would never do such a thing. He says that “it got to the point where he couldn’t control his anger” because his wife was yelling at him, so he slapped her twice. 

The suspect also admitted that he struck his wife with the rental car when he drove away from her workplace, because she wouldn’t get out of the way when he was trying to leave. The suspect also admitted to saying that he would kill his wife, but that he said it out of anger. 

Vito was then booked for 48-hour confinement at the Tafuna Correctional Facility. He is being charged with two counts of felony assault in the third degree.

Bail is set at $20,000.