New shipment of PC and MAC computers reported stolen from DOE

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On June 9, 2025, the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) received a call from an employee of the American Samoa Department of Education (ASDOE) reporting an alleged burglary at their building.

Two suspects were later arrested and charged with:

Count 1: Stealing, a class C felony punishable by a term of imprisonment not to exceed seven years, a fine of not more than $5,000, or both imprisonment and fine;

Count 2: Burglary in the First Degree, a class B felony punishable by a term of imprisonment not to exceed fifteen years; and,

Count 3: Trespass, a class B misdemeanor punishable by a term of imprisonment for up to six months, a fine of up to $500, or both.

According to the court affidavit, on June 9th, at about 9:57 a.m., an individual contacted the TPS to report an alleged burglary at the ASDOE Technical Building in Tafuna.

Authorities proceeded to the call and upon arrival, the reporting party briefed the officers and directed them to the room where the stolen items had been stored. It was alleged that the suspect(s), unknown at the time, had removed five HP desktop computers and an iMAC computer from their retail boxes. An investigation later revealed that the computers were a new purchase.

Authorities documented the scene with photographs. Among the scene’s observations was a hole in a wall. During the scene documentation, a black pouch labeled “Tony” and “T-Bone” was recovered. The pouch contained several golf balls.

The responding officer presented the pouch to another officer who resides near the Golf Course area and was familiar with persons who frequent the course. The officer recognized the pouch, stating it belonged to an individual named Tony who had previously been brought in for questioning while carrying the same pouch.

Following this, attempts were made to locate the individual known as Tony but efforts were unsuccessful.

On June 17th, an individual identified as Tuaifuaina Vaapau (suspect #1), aka “Tony” was located and brought in for questioning. After being Mirandized, the suspect admitted the pouch was his and confessed to participating in the burglary alongside an individual named Sila Hanipale Malae (later identified as suspect #2).

Suspect #1 continued that after reaching the DOE building, he kicked the door open to the third room. He breached a wall to access the second room where the computers were located, creating a hole in the wall, and he unlocked the door for Malae.

Suspect #1 stated that they both took and carried the stolen computers to a nearby ASPA utility box, then walked to the Airport Taxi stand to request transportation. He explained that they didn’t have money for the taxi fare so they gave one of the computers to the taxi driver as payment. The taxi was identified as an orange vehicle from the Airport Taxi stand.

Authorities proceeded to the said taxi stand and made contact with an associate of the suspected taxi driver. Shortly after, the taxi driver arrived at the station for questioning.

The taxi driver confirmed that the two men had requested his taxi service early in the morning on June 9, 2025 at around 1:00 a.m. and directed him to take them to an ASPA utility box near the DOE building. He observed the two men retrieve the computers and they placed them in his vehicle. After transporting them to the Misa store in Iliiili, the passengers were unable to pay the fare and gave him one of the computers in exchange for payment.

The taxi driver said he retained the computer while awaiting for someone to claim it, but could not explain why he didn’t report the incident to authorities.

The total estimated value of the stolen items based on the market value is approximately $6,048.95.

Tuaifuaina Vaapau is identified as a 38-year-old U.S National, whereas Sila Malae is identified as a 23-year-old citizen of Samoa.

The affidavit does not mention if suspect #2 has been arrested or if the taxi driver was arrested.