‘Friend’ of homeowner allegedly steals from residence

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On December 7, 2024, a male victim called the Fagatogo Police Station (FPS) to report a male individual who allegedly broke into his residence and stole his belongings.

He was later charged with:

Count 1: Stealing, a class C felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than seven years, a fine of not more than $5,000, or both imprisonment and fine; and,

Count 2: Trespass, a class B misdemeanor punishable by a term of imprisonment for up to six months, a fine of up to $500, or both.

The defendant’s bail was set at $5,000.

According to the court affidavit, on Dec. 7th, at around 3:20 a.m., a male individual (victim/ reporter) contacted the FPS requesting assistance concerning a male individual who trespassed on his property and stole his arc welder machine.

Earlier the same night, the victim had called and requested to remove a male friend by the name of Filipo Sione from his residence due to a verbal altercation between them.

The officers responded and removed and escorted Filipo to his residence but the suspect later allegedly returned and stole the victim’s arc welder machine from his car garage which he saw from his two-story house. The victim stated that he yelled out to the suspect to return his machine but the suspect responded by cursing at him and continued walking.

After receiving the call, police officers responded again and upon arrival, they met up with the victim who pointed out the direction the suspect was headed. The officers conducted a thorough search but were unable to locate the suspect.

As the officers were talking with the victim, one of the victim’s neighbors that was walking on the shoreline informed them that the suspect was sitting on the beach and asked him for a cigarette.

After receiving the information, the officers and the victim responded to the location but were unable to locate the suspect. However, the officers did find the victim’s welding machine which was covered by a T-Shirt. As the victim confirmed that it was indeed his machine, one of the officers observed an object submerged in the ocean. When they proceeded to find out what it was, they discovered that it was the suspect.

The suspect was apprehended on the shoreline and placed inside the police unit.

The suspect admitted to stealing the welding machine and also pointed out where he hid the victim’s tool box which were both recovered and returned to the victim.

He was transported to the FPS for further investigation. During that time, officers detected a strong odor of alcohol emitting from the suspect’s breath.

It was later revealed that the suspect was involved in several assault and burglary cases but was never found.

The suspect was booked and confined at the Tafuna Correctional Facility awaiting the next available sitting of the District Court.

The defendant is identified as a 35-year-old citizen of Samoa.