Young mothers charged in separate cases involving meth

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A young mother from Pago Pago accused of violating local drug laws pled guilty during a change of plea hearing at the High Court this week.

Sweetie Roselene Tufele, 24, under a plea agreement with the government, pled guilty to the amended charge of unlawful possession of methamphetamine (meth), a class D felony, punishable by a term of imprisonment of not more than five years, a fine of not more than $5,000 or both.

By her guilty plea, Tufele admits that on May 1, 2022, cops found a glass pipe containing meth in her possession.

Tufele is now remanded back to the Territorial Correctional. Facility (TCF) to await sentencing, which is now scheduled for Nov. 1.

FAAFETAI ANGEL MOANANU

A young mother who was arrested and taken into custody after testing positive for meth while on probation appeared in Court this week for a Disposition Hearing.

According to the Court, Faafetai Angel Moananu was sentenced to 12 months probation by the District Court in June of this year after being convicted for PPD. One of the conditions of her probation was to refrain from consuming alcohol or illegal drugs.

A month later in August, Moananu tested positive for meth when she visited Probation and she was immediately taken into custody for violation of her probation.

This week, Moananu appeared before Acting Associate Justice Patea for her Disposition hearing. She was represented by Public Defender David Vargas.

Moananu apologized to the court for non compliance with order of the court saying she had learned her lesson and wanted to go home to be with her newborn son, who is now under the care of the Child Protected Service (CPS) of the Department of Human and Social Services (DHSS).

She blames a friend who came to her house on Wednesday and asked her to go party with her. During the party, she ended up smoking meth with her friends. Two day later on Friday morning, she visit the Probation Office without knowing that something was going to happen to her.

Moananu further stated that she wanted to return home so that she can follow up on her son’s case with the CPS. She said she wants her son back so that she can provide care for him.

The defense attorney asked the court not to revoke his client’s probation but modify it. He said his client has learned her lesson and she’s willing to return home to be with her family and try to deal with her son’s case with CPS.

The government’s attorney agreed with the defense and asked the court not to revoke the defendant’s probation.

The court told the defendant the allegation against her for probation violation is not good for her record because the violation happened almost immediately. The court further told the defendant that she’s young and had a child and she needs to make up her mind whether to continue with her old life or not.

The court agreed not to revoke probation but instead modify it — Moananu is to report to Probation every Monday where she will submit herself for a drug test.

The court sent a strong message to the defendant, advising her that if she failed to comply with any of the court’s orders, she would serve the 12- month imprisonment term, which had been suspended by the court.