Day #2 MAMA: Off-island DEA experts testify about drugs found at scene

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On Day 2 of MAMA’s trial, jurors heard testimony from two experts from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), along with several police officers, who were present and armed when they executed a search warrant at the Le Aute Sports Bar compound in Malaeloa on the early morning of Sept. 12, 2018.

Tumuatasi Lefatia a.k.a MAMA, who is accused of violating local drug laws is represented by private attorneys Marcellus Talaimalo Uiagalelei and David Vargas, while prosecuting the case is Assistant Attorney General Kristine Soule.

Forensic chemists Alecia Martin and Rochelle Hranac testified yesterday morning via video conference. Their credentials were established during testimony and the court certified each of them as a ‘qualified expert’. With no objections from the defense, each testified for the prosecution.

Martin testified regarding the green substance she analyzed and Hranac provided testimony on the white crystalline substance she examined.

Martin is a DEA chemist who holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in chemistry and has worked for the DEA for the last 10 and 1/2 years. Her daily responsibilities include examination of all evidence assigned to her for analysis, to determine the presence or non-presence of illegal substances inside each piece of evidence. She has conducted over 5,000 tests on green substances in her years with the DEA and she has also testified about a dozen times in court in criminal proceedings. Each time, the court has certified her as an expert in the field of forensic chemistry.

For the green substance, Martin identified exhibit #6, as the same exhibit she examined  — it had her handwriting and signature on it.

On Oct. 27, 2020, she received evidence from the DEA specialist at the DEA laboratory to examine. Inside a DEA envelope was a sealed envelope containing 26 hand rolled cigarettes containing green substance. The sealed envelope containing 26 ‘cigarettes’ was from the American Samoa, Department of Public Safety (DPS), labelled case #18-09-1645.

She said she weighed the green substance and it was 6.6 grams.

Martin noted that she conducted three different tests, and all three confirmed that the green substance was marijuana.

In cross-examination, defense attorney Uiagalelei asked Martin to explain how she received evidence from the DEA specialist mentioned in her testimony. She described the process and protocols the DEA laboratory uses to safeguard and assign analysis of the evidence from DPS for case #18-09-1645.

Martin said once her analysis was completed, she handed back the evidence to the DEA specialist along with her findings and report.

Hranac, who examined the white crystalline substance from DPS case #18-09-1645, also laid out a clear picture on the process she used to examine the evidence.

She holds a BA and MA of Science in chemistry and has worked for the DEA for 4 and a half years now, after working at the Arizona DPS for about ten years. The witness told the court that she conducts over 20 drug tests in one day and she has also been called numerous times to testify regarding the tests she conducts.

Hranac said she received a DEA envelope, and inside was a sealed envelope containing 3 plastic baggies with white crystalline substance inside. She measured the weight of the white crystalline substance and it was 80grams. She then conducted three different tests to analyze the substance:

The GCMS test is a gas-chromatography and mass spectrometry test that identifies 100% the presence of particular substances within a test sample. It proved that the crystalline substance inside the 3 baggies was methamphetamine (meth). Hranac repeated her answer — that the outcome of the test she administered was that the white crystalline substance inside the 3 plastic baggies was meth.

The IR test — Infrared spectroscopy that’s used to check drugs for their identity — also proved that the white crystalline substance was methamphetamine hydrochloride.

The Purity test — also referred to a reagent test — proved that the white crystalline substance was 100% meth. 

In cross examination of Hranac, Uiagalelei wanted to understand more about the DEA Form 7 which is submitted together with evidence for analysis. She explained that the DEA will only accept evidence if its submitted together with the DEA Form 7.

Uiagalelei also asked if DEA video tapes or records them while administering their tests inside the lab, the witness said no.

OTHER WITNESSES

Other witnesses the government is calling are police officers. Yesterday, Special Agent Justin Thompson, who is now with the Department of Homeland Security, no longer a police officer — was the first one to take the witness stand.

Thompson took part in the execution of the search warrant on Lefatia’s home in Malaeloa. At the time, he was a police detective with the DPS Vice and Narcotics Unit.

According to his testimony, when they entered one of the bedrooms at the Lefatia compound, they found the defendant, a young teenage girl and three little babies. Officers were armed during the raid, however their movements at that time slowed upon discovery that there were little children inside the bedroom, according to Thompson, who also said that drugs were found inside the bedroom where the defendant and young children were sleeping.

The trial resumes today at 9:00 a.m.