Man arrested on allegation he assaulted his wife

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man arrested for assaulting his wife is now charged for violating local drug laws.

The man appeared in Court last month for his initial appearance. He is charged with felonious restraint (involving domestic violence) and unlawful possession of marijuana, both felonies, along with 3rd-degree assault, a class A misdemeanor.

Bail is set at $10,000.

THE CASE

On Mar. 28, 2022 about 4p.m, a woman walked into the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) to report that she and her husband had been having arguments lately. The woman was later identified as the victim in this matter, while her husband was later identified as the defendant.

The victim further stated that on Sunday, Mar. 27, they were preparing food in the kitchen and at the same time her husband was drinking beer.

All of a sudden, her husband got mad at her for no reason and allegedly punched her in the face and she quickly ran to the front of the house. She also stated that she was afraid to go back to the kitchen because her husband had been controlling lately.

She further stated that earlier she and her husband were having another argument, when he stated that he wanted to kill somebody, however, she did not know whether he was referring to her or himself. The victim stated to police that her husband pushed her into the room and locked the door. He also punched her in the face twice and pulled her hair while slapping her in the back of her head.

When he grabbed her by the arm and tried to assault her, she apologized and begged her husband not to hurt her anymore. He had also grabbed her by her face and forced her to look at him while he aggressively told her to look at him. The victim also stated that unknown men had come to her house during the night. She had questioned her husband on the matter, yet he was silent, She later on discovered her husband had in his possession a glass pipe containing white powder inside, along with a small baggie containing green leafy stuff.

She confronted her husband and questioned him about the stuff she discovered on him but her husband kept telling her that she didn’t understand what was going on.

The victim further told police that she had another small baggie containing the white powder stuff, and she had no idea what it was.

Upon arrival at the residence of the couple involved in the matter, officers first apprehended the defendant who was sitting in the back of his pickup truck before they proceeded inside the house to speak with the victim. Officers also confiscated evidence from the scene including a glass pipe containing a white crystalline substance and a small stamp sized baggie also containing a white crystalline substance.

Before the defendant was placed inside the police unit, he was patted down for weapons or contraband. During the body search, officers discovered a small baggie containing a green leafy substance inside his pants’ left pocket, along with half a hand rolled cigarette containing a green leafy substance inside his wallet.

During the process, officers smelled a strong odor of alcohol coming from the defendant’s breathe and clothes.

The defendant was transported to the TPS for further questioning and detectives of the Vice and Narcotics Unit (VNU) were also notified regarding the alleged illegal drugs.

The defendant was Mirandized and he provided the officers with a statement. He stated that he started smoking meth and marijuana in October of last year. He stated that he was having constant headaches, chest pains and also back pains.

So he would smoke marijuana and meth to relieve him of his pain. When asked him where he got his drugs , the defendant stated he bought them from a friend living in Futiga.

When questioned about the allegations that he assaulted his wife, the defendant admits that he assaulted his wife inside the kitchen because she asked him a lot of questions about him and his friends. He also stated that he slapped his wife in the face and the back of the head, but he did not punch her.

The defendant also denied making deadly threats to his wife. He said that despite the fact he was drinking, he understood every action he made on that day.