Man who fell asleep in a taxi is charged with drug possession

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Nansen Tupuola made his initial appearance before District Court Judge Elvis P. Patea last Friday morning on drug charges. Prosecuting the case was Assistant Attorney General Jason Mitchell, while Assistant Public Defender Ryan Anderson represented the defendant.

Tupuola is charged with one count of unlawful possession of methamphetamine, a felony punishable by imprisonment of 5-10 years, a fine of $5,000-$20,000 or both for each count.

Bail is set at $5,000. If Tupuola is able to post bond, he is ordered to abide by standard release conditions.

THE CASE

On Aug. 20th, 2019 at around 11:00p.m, a cab driver at the Airport Taxi Stand contacted the DPS Tafuna Substation for assistance, regarding an unconscious male he  picked up from Vaitogi.

Police who responded to the call found the man still unconscious. They woke him up and transported all parties to the Tafuna Substation for further questioning.

Once at the substation, the taxi driver requested to be paid for his services. At this time, the unconscious male had awoken and identified himself as Nansen Tupuola, the defendant in this matter.

Cops requested that Tupuola pay the taxi fee, for which the complaint was lodged. While Tupuola was going through his backpack to get money to pay his fare, investigators who were standing in front of him observed multiple stamp sized baggies in his bag.

When asked about the baggies, Tupuola did not respond. Cops then stopped everything and notified the DPS Vice and Narcotics Unit for assistance. One of the stamp sized baggies contained a white crystalline substance which later tested positive for methamphetamine.

When questioned about the meth, Tupuola told an investigator from Vice that he and his friend Henry had caught a taxi from Vaitogi, heading to his home in Nu’uuli. On the way there, Henry was dropped off in Faleniu.

He said once he was in the taxi, he fell asleep, and he didn’t come to until police woke him up at the taxi stand. He further stated that the black backpack belonged to him, including its contents and the empty baggies; but he denied any knowledge of the stamp sized baggie that contained meth.

Tupuola will appear in court this week for a preliminary examination election.