Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man who is on probation for stealing and burglary is now in custody after being arrested last month and charged for violating local drug laws.
Saumani Panisia made his initial appearance in Court last month.
He is charged with one count of unlawful possession of methamphetamine (meth); one count of unlawful possession of marijuana, both unclassified felonies, punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than five nor more than ten years and a fine of not less than $5,000 nor more than $20,000, or both; along with one count of resisting arrest, a class D felony, punishable by imprisonment for up to 5 years, a fine of $5,000, or both.
Bail is set $15,000.
Pania is scheduled to appear in court next week for his preliminary hearing (PX).
THE CASE
On Mar. 06, 2022, three police officers patrolling in Iliili observed a black truck turning right onto a family property without any signal. Officers immediately initiated a traffic stop and saw there was only one individual in the vehicle. He was Saumani Panisia, the defendant in this matter.
Officers approached Panisia in an effort to inform him about the reason for the traffic stop, however, as officers tried to speak to the driver, they observed the driver holding in his hand a yellow envelope. Panisia tried to open his door in an effort to step outside of the vehicle but he was informed by officers to stay inside the vehicle.
Panisia did not comply and he forcibly opened his door and stepped outside of the vehicle. One officer tried to stop Panisia but he pushed the officer away and tried to walk to the back of the vehicle while still holding the yellow envelope in his right hand.
Officers informed Panisia one more time to get back into the vehicle and hand over the yellow envelope. At last, Panisia agreed and complied with officers’ instructions to get back inside the vehicle, where in a police officer then instructed him to hand over the yellow envelope.
However, Panisia threw the yellow envelope to the other side of the road, about 10ft from where his vehicle was parked. Police picked it up and opened it, and discovered a glass pipe containing meth.
Officers requested his driver’s license and the driver again refused to comply, refusing to provide a valid driver’s license or any form of identification document but only verbally stating that his name is Junior.
At that point, police informed Panisia that his vehicle would be impounded and he was being detained at the Tafuna Police SubStation (TPS) for further investigation. That’s when the driver pushed one of the police officers while at the same time opening his door in an attempt to run away from police.
He was immediately apprehended at the scene, while continuing to resist, yelling profanities and fighting off officers. He was eventually transported to the TPS.
During the interview, Panisia was informed and served an outstanding bench warrant issued by the High Court for his arrest.
He was patted down and officers discovered a glass pipe containing white crystalline substance inside his underwear waistband, as well as a medium sized baggie containing a white substance in his front pocket.
An inventory-search of Panisia’s impounded vehicle was also conducted in his presence, where upon officers discovered two baggies that contained green leafy substances in the armrest between the driver and the front passenger seats.
Information regarding Panisia’s case was later transferred to the DPS Vice and Narcotics Unit (VNU) for further investigation.
The white crystalline substance discovered in Panisia’s possession tested positive for meth; while the green leafy substances tested positive for Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), an active compound in the controlled substance marijuana.
He was Mirandized where he stated that he understood and made a verbal statement only regarding the incident.
According to Panisia, he went to his friend’s house to pick up his tool box to fix his vehicle and his friend gave him drugs. He stated to police that he was on way back home when officers pulled over his vehicle.
BACKGROUND
Three years ago in July of 2019, Panisia was sentenced to seven years imprisonment and a fine of $2,000 after he was convicted of stealing and burglary. He admitted that in March of 2018 he unlawfully entered his neighbor’s house late at night and stole items from the house.
AMEKO NAASONA
A driver of a blue pick-up truck pulled over by police officers last month for failure to stop at a stop sign is now charged with violating local drug laws.
Ameko Naasona was taken into custody when police discovered two small baggies containing white crystalline substance in his possession.
The government claims that while two police officers were patrolling along the Futiga highway last month on Mar. 11, 2022, they observed a pick-up truck coming from the Iliili road that made a right turn without stopping at a stop sign, and almost collided with another vehicle coming from Futiga road heading east.
Police officers pulled the pick-up truck over, and informed the driver, later identified as Ameko Naasona, 36-year old male from Taputimu, the reason for the traffic stop. He told police that he was in a rush to pick up his wife from home to take her to the hospital.
During the conversation, officers smelled a strong odor of alcohol coming from the driver’s breath. When asked if he was under the influence of alcohol, the driver replied, “Yes, and I also got some stuff on me.” Officers asked the driver what stuff he’s referring to, the driver replied, “illegal meth”.
It was at that time the driver pulled out two small baggies containing a white substance and handed it over to police officers. A pat down was conducted and nothing else was found. The driver was later transported to the TPS for further investigation, and his vehicle was impounded.
After being Mirandized, Naasona told investigators that he understood his rights and he refused to make a statement, and asked for his attorney.
Naasona made his initial appearance in court two weeks ago.
He’s charged with one count of unlawful possession of meth, a felony, along with a class A misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI).
Bail was set at $5,000 and Naasona is scheduled to appear in court this Thursday for his preliminary examination.
FAAFITI IFOPO
A man allegedly found with a glass pipe containing meth in his vehicle when police pulled him over for a traffic violation last year has finally been arrested and charged.
According to the government’s case, two police officers patrolling in the Futiga area observed a vehicle coming from the Iliili road heading east, speeding, on the morning of May 24, 2021. The vehicle did not stop at the stop sign. Officers followed the vehicle and initiated a traffic stop.
The driver of the vehicle was later identified as Fa’afiti Ifopo, the defendant in this case. When asked for his driver’s license, Ifpo told police he had forgotten his driver’s license at home, and had no other form of photo identification was presented.
Police then informed Ifopo that they were going to impound his vehicle because he didn’t have a driver’s license and he was being transported to the TPS for further investigation.
Before Ifopo was transported to the TPS, police conducted a body search and nothing was found. The search then moved to the vehicle where police discovered a black pouch between the driver’s seat and the passenger’s seat. Inside the black pouch was a glass pipe containing a white crystalline substance - that was later tested and the result was positive for meth.
After being Mirandized, Ifopo refused to make a statement to police.
Ifopo was arrested last month and made his initial appearance in Court.
He is charged with one count of unlawful possession of meth, a felony.
Bail is set at $5,000.
Preliminary hearing (PX) is set for next week.
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