Man convicted for domestic violence arrested again

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man convicted of assaulting his girlfriend more than two years ago was arrested last month after police officers discovered drugs in his vehicle.

Ethan Mauga has made his initial appearance in Court.

He is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and unlawful possession of methamphetamine (meth) with the intent to distribute, both unclassified felonies, punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than five not more than ten years, a fine of not less than $5,000 nor more than $20,000.

Bail is set at $15,000.

THE CASE

The government claims that on the early morning of June 19, 2022 around 2:25a.m, officers from the Traffic Unit contacted Detectives of the Vice and Narcotics Unit concerning a possible drug case involving the driver of a vehicle they pulled over in Iliili during a traffic stop on the morning of June 19, 2022, for a curfew violation of the Public Health Emergency Declaration by the Governor of American Samoa.

Detectives arrived at the scene and traffic officers handed them evidence they found during the traffic stop. The driver of the vehicle was identified as Ethan Mauga.

During the traffic stop, an unsealed container of beer was observed in the center cup holder of the vehicle.

Mauga was apprehended and placed inside a police unit. He was later transported to the TPS for further investigation.

An inventory of the vehicle was taken, where a maroon and brown wristlet was observed next to the gear shift of the vehicle. The handle of the wristlet was around the gear shift and the entire bag was on the driver’s side.

When officers asked Mauga if he owned the wristlet, he said no. Officers searched inside the wristlet to log down the property, which included cash and a clear ziploc baggie containing what appeared to be a white crystalline substance.

Officers further searched the vehicle and discovered one stamp-sized baggie containing a green leafy substance with seeds, and one medium sized baggie with a white crystalline substance, along with a glass pipe containing a white crystalline substance under the passenger’s seat.

Mauga was Mirandized and agreed to make a verbal statement about what happened. According to Mauga, he buys his meth from a usual seller ranging from $300 on up and then sells it.

A police detective utilized a meth field test kit to test the white crystalline substance, which yielded positive results for meth. A marijuana field test was used to test the green leafy substance and it yielded positive results for THC, the active compound in marijuana.