Man allegedly assaults another man with a hammer “for no reason”

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A 34-year-old man from Samoa accused of assaulting another man with a hammer without a reason was arrested by police last week.

Palemia Salanoa made his initial appearance in District Court last week.

He is charged with one count of 2nd degree assault, a class D felony, punishable by terms of imprisonment of up to five years, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.

Bail is set at $10,000.

THE CASE

On Dec. 6, 2020 about 12:04a.m, a woman and her husband (the victim in this case) arrived at the Fagatogo Central Police Station (CPS) requesting police assistance regarding her husband, who was bleeding form the left side of his head. Medical assistance was requested by officers, while other officers assisted the victim inside the station.

According to the victim’s wife’s statement to investigators, the incident happened in Utulei, and she was the driver of their vehicle when they headed up the Tramway road to drop off family members.

She said prior to reaching their destination, they saw a red pick-up truck parked next to the road in which she observed a male, who was shirtless, with a female — drinking. As their vehicle passed the truck, they heard the male cussing at them in Samoan, followed by a loud war cry (faaumu).

She said she didn’t know these people, having never seen them before, or the truck. She also noted that while they continued to drive-by, one of her family members who was in the car told the male to leave the area and to not make any noise due to family around the area.  The victim and his wife continued their errand of dropping off a family member.

It was on their way back down the road, by Afoa Lutu’s residence, that the male that had cussed at them was seen standing in the middle of the road, waving at them to stop.

As they pulled over, the victim’s wife saw that the male had a hammer in his hand and he was approaching the passenger’s side where her husband was sitting. Without a word, the male allegedly struck the victim’s forehead with the hammer, causing a huge laceration.

The male then turned around and quickly ran to his truck parked on the other side of the road behind Samoana High School, got inside his truck and fled the area.

 The victim’s wife started calling out for help, while helping her husband by taking off his shirt and applying pressure to his forehead. She then drove to the Central Station to report the alleged incident.

She told investigators that they have no knowledge of who the suspect is and what the reason was behind his action.

Investigators also questioned the victim about the alleged incident after he was treated at the LBJ hospital where he echoed his wife’s statement, including being struck on his forehead by a male with a hammer on their way back down the Tramway road. He also confirmed that he didn’t know the male or recognize his face. He had never seen him before.

The victim described the male as being a muscular built individual with rasta (long branded) hair, and a sleeve tattoo on his left chest, shoulder forearms.

A police search then went out to locate the truck described by the couple.

In the meantime, the family member of the victim who told the male and female who were drinking beer on the Tramway to leave the area, was already on the road looking for the truck after he was informed by the victim’s wife about the incident.

It was this family member who waved down police in Utulei to inform them that he had spotted the suspect’s truck at Sadie’s by the Sea parking lot. Police then proceeded to the parking lot and confirmed the truck was there.

Investigators approached the truck and discovered six males standing near the truck and asked them if they had seen the driver of the truck. A male walked over and asked investigators why they were looking for the driver, and police replied they only wanted to speak to the driver. The male replied, “You need a warrant to question me and to bring him in.”

The police then told the male that they needed to speak with the driver regarding a matter that was reported to their office earlier regarding a man who allegedly assaulted another man with a hammer.

That is when the male told investigators that he is the driver of the vehicle and his name is Palemia Salanoa, the defendant in this case. He further stated to investigators that the truck belonged to their company (and named the company).

Police asked Salanoa to come with them to the CPS to discuss the reported incident but Salanoa refused and told investigators that he was not going to the CPS or anywhere else because he wanted to spend time with his friends.

Upon refusal to cooperate with investigators, Salanoa was immediately apprehended, along with the truck, at the scene and was transported to the CPS for questioning.

An inventory on the vehicle was conducted at the CPS in the presence of Salanoa. During inventory, investigators observed fresh blood stains on a light brown sponge that was located in the back of the truck.

When asked about the incident, Salanoa refused to offer any statement to investigators. He further refused to cooperate with investigators while processing his booking form. He was later booked and confined at the Tafuna Correctional Facility (TCF) to await the next sitting of the Court.