One, two, three counts you’re in, and the bail is $1,000

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On December 19, 2024, officers on stationary patrol in front of a store in Nuuuli “waved down” a vehicle that they observed had the passenger side tail lamp assembly hanging off of it. The stop resulted in the driver being arrested and the vehicle impounded.

The defendant has been charged with:

Count 1: Fraudulent Plates, a class B misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment for six months, a fine of $500, or both;

Count 2: Driving without a Driver’s License, a class B misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for six months, a fine of $500 or both; and,

Count 3: Head Lamps and Tail Lamps, a class B misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for six months, a fine of $500 or both.

Bail is set at $1,000.

According to the court affidavit, on Dec. 19th, two officers, who were on stationary patrol (foot patrol) in front of a store in Nuuuli waved down a vehicle that they observed “traveling westbound… with the passenger side tail lamp assembly hanging off from the vehicle.”

After notifying the driver the reason for the stop, he was asked for his driver’s license, to which he replied that he had never applied for one, nor did he have on him any other ID to verify his identity. He told the police officers that his name is Tualega Time.

Officers checked with police headquarters (HQ) and Time was found to have no record of a driver’s license. However, they also ran the license plate of the vehicle through HQ and found that it belonged to another vehicle. Time was asked about the plates and he stated that it had been three weeks “since I took off the plates from another vehicle and used it on mine.”

Time was arrested and his vehicle impounded to the Tafuna Police Substation.

At the station, Time was booked and taken to the Tafuna Correctional Facility to await the next sitting of the District Court.

Time is a Samoa citizen residing in the Territory.