Wife reports husband for allegedly assaulting her in their home

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On January 21, 2025, a female individual called the Fagatogo Police Station (FPS) and reported that her husband was allegedly causing a disturbance and had assaulted her in their home.

The suspect was apprehended and later charged with:

Count 1: Private Peace Disturbance (DV), a class C misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to fifteen days, a fine of $300.00, or both imprisonment and fine; and,

Count 2: Assault in the Third Degree (DV), a class A misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to one year, a fine of $1,000.00, or both.

The defendant’s bail was set at $500.00.

According to the court affidavit, on Jan. 21st,  at about 10:50 a.m., a female individual (later identified as the victim) contacted the FPS to report her husband yelling at her aggressively and threatening to hurt her.

The police proceeded to the call and upon arrival at the scene, they encountered the victim standing outside of her house. The victim verbally briefed the officers regarding the incident.

The victim stated that her husband (later identified as the suspect) locked her out of their bedroom in the morning when she tried to get their daughter ready for her appointment. She continued that because the room was locked, she was unable to get her daughter ready and she went back to sleep.

A few hours later, she said, the suspect woke her up and started yelling at her about missing their daughter’s appointment. The victim explained that she ignored him and walked away and went inside their room where the suspect followed her into the room and grabbed her by the neck.

The suspect choked her and tried to drag her out of the room while threatening that he was going to end her and burn all of her and their kids’ clothes.

The victim further stated that her argument with her husband started the day before because he thinks she’s having an affair with one of her co-workers. She stated that the suspect also called her names in front of people while she was waiting for a bus to go to work.

After the victim’s interview, she directed the officers to the room where the suspect was located and he was immediately apprehended.

The suspect was transported to the FPS for further investigation.

Upon arrival at the station around 11:30 a.m., the suspect was Mirandized and agreed to answer questions regarding the situation between him and his wife.

After his interview, he was booked and confined at the Tafuna Correctional Facility awaiting the next available sitting of the District Court.

The defendant is identified as a 29-year-old citizen of Samoa.