Mother calls police to remove unruly son from her home

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On December 21, 2024, a concerned mother called the Fagatogo Police Station (FPS) for assistance regarding her son who was allegedly causing a disturbance by attempting to assault two victims.

Peter Tiamaniani was apprehended and later charged with:

Count 1: Assault in the Second Degree, a class D felony punishable by imprisonment for up to five years, a fine of $5,000, or both; and,

Count 2: Private Peace Disturbance, a class C misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to six months, a fine of $500, or both.

The defendant’s bail was set at $20,000.

According to the court affidavit, on Dec. 21st, at about 4:30 p.m., a mother contacted the FPS in need of assistance in removing her son, Peter Tiamaniani (suspect), from their residence. She claimed that he attempted to stab a man (victim) with a knife. She also alleged that she was afraid that Peter would wake up and hurt his sister.

Police officers responded to the call and upon arrival, an unknown male, who lives at the Tiamaniani’s house approached them. He directed and pointed out the location of the house. As the officers were walking up to the house, the suspect’s mother approached the officers and asked them to follow her towards a separate shack where the suspect was sleeping.

The mother also requested for the suspect to be removed from the house immediately.

The officers apprehended the suspect and he was later transported to the FPS for booking.

The officers also interviewed the suspect’s mother at the scene and according to her, she suspected that her son was using drugs. She explained that when he got home, he was highly intoxicated and tried to stab another man (victim #1) with a knife and also threatened to beat up his niece (victim #2) with a machete. She requested that she wanted him to be removed because his behavior is getting worse when he is intoxicated.

At FPS, the suspect was Mirandized, and he wanted to make a verbal statement regarding the incident.

According to Peter, he was drinking alcohol with some of his friends at the marketplace. At around 3:00 p.m., he went home to prepare the umu (traditional oven) for Sunday’s meal. After he did all that he went straight to sleep. He also stated that he doesn’t recall doing whatever his mother said he did. When he was questioned about his attempt to stab and threatened the victims, he stated that he saw victim #1 laughing at him so he went up to him with a knife. For his niece, he said he was only trying to scare her.

The suspect was transported at the Tafuna Correctional Facility to be confined to await the next available sitting of the District Court.

The officers returned to the family’s residence to interview one of the victim’s and another witness. According to victim #1, he was using the restroom when the suspect came and tried to forcefully open the bathroom door. He told the suspect to wait until he’s done but when he came out, the suspect swung the knife aiming for his neck. He then said that “luckily his quick reaction by blocking Peter’s arm with his hand saved him.” He quickly stepped back and was able to avoid being stabbed by the suspect. The victim was also able to retrieve the knife used by the suspect which was confiscated for evidence.

According to another witness, she stated she was inside the house with her sisters when they heard someone talking to himself. When they looked outside, they saw it was the suspect. She explained that they didn’t pay any attention to him but later on they heard people arguing outside the house. Afterwards, they saw the suspect chasing the victim with a knife and attempting to stab him. They yelled at the suspect to stop but he picked up a machete and threatened to beat up her little sister if she continued to cry.