Man allegedly threatens uncle after his mother was disrespected

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On April 30, 2025, authorities received a call regarding a suspect who allegedly assaulted his uncle and threatened him with a machete and crowbar.

Kurene Paaga was later arrested and charged with:

Count 1: Public Peace Disturbance (DV), a class B misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to six months, a fine not to exceed $500, or both imprisonment and fine;

Count 2: Assault in the Third Degree (DV), a class A misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to one year, a fine not to exceed $1,000, or both; and,

Count 3: Assault in the Third Degree (DV) (As a C Misd.), a class C misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to fifteen days, a fine not to exceed $300, or both.

The defendant’s bail was set at $1,000.

According to the court affidavit, on Apr. 30th, a man (suspect) was blasting out loud music when his uncle (victim) approached him and advised him to keep his music down. The suspect’s mother then intervened by yelling at the victim for bothering her son, while he was drinking and enjoying himself.

The victim and the suspect’s mother got into a verbal altercation where the suspect got mad and punched his uncle and then tackled him where they both fell to the ground.

The altercation escalated as both the men were on the ground struggling with each other. They were separated, but the suspect rushed into his house and grabbed a machete. He returned, running towards the victim, very angry, but was held back by his father.

Police officers responded to the call and upon arrival at the scene, they observed a man (suspect) being held back from running towards other people standing at the top of the hill not far from the suspect’s house.

The victim (uncle) was interviewed and according to his verbal statement, he heard loud music coming from the suspect’s residence. At first, he was not bothered but later around 10:00 p.m., the music got louder. He approached the suspect’s house where he advised him to keep the music and voices down because their grandmother was asleep. The suspect complied and agreed to turn the music down.

However, the confrontation became agitated when the suspect’s mother intervened and they ended up in a verbal altercation. The altercation escalated when the suspect got angry and punched him (uncle) in the chest and tackled him down. They both fell to the ground.

The victim continued that the suspect later retrieved a machete from the house, and at that point, he didn’t know what to do but to look for an object to defend himself.

Authorities also interviewed the victim’s wife and she explained that she heard loud music coming from the suspect’s house. She never really thought of it until it was time for them to go to sleep and the music was getting louder.

She stated that her husband approached the suspect and advised him about the music volume while she was still at home. She said that she heard yelling from a distance and made her way down to the suspect’s house, and when she arrived, she saw her husband and the suspect on the ground scuffling.

At that time, she jumped in and tried to break up the fight. Finally, the victim and suspect were separated and the suspect later ran out of his house with a machete towards her and her husband. Fortunately, the suspect was held back by his father.

In addition, the officers interviewed a witness who verbally stated that he was playing video games in the house with his friends when his little brother came to him and told him that there was a fight going on outside.

When he went outside he saw the victim and suspect yelling at each other. He then tried to hold back the suspect but he got away and ran towards the victim and tackled him. As both parties were on the ground, the victim wrapped his arms around the suspect to hold him down.

The witness further stated he and his other cousins tried to stop the fight, and when the two men got separated, the victim went home to put on his pants because he was only wearing an “ie” (sarong). When he returned to speak with the suspect, the suspect was too angry and the altercation started again.

Upon arrival at the TPS, the suspect was Mirandized and agreed to make a statement.

According to his verbal statement, he was drinking at the house with his friend when his uncle approached him. He told him to keep the noise and the sound of the music down. He complied as he was told by his uncle.

But, he got mad at his uncle because of the way he spoke to his mother. The suspect admitted he couldn’t handle how his uncle was disrespecting his mother so he ran and tackled him. His uncle fell to the ground and they scuffled until they were separated. He then went inside his house and grabbed a machete and crowbar in both hands but was held back by his father.

Kurene Paaga was later booked and confined at the Tafuna Correctional Facility to await the next available sitting of the District Court.

The defendant is identified as a 23-year-old U.S National.