Man arrested after wife accuses him of hitting her with a rock

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man accused of assaulting his wife at their residence and attempting to hit her face with a rock was arrested by police last month

The defendant is charged with a single count of 2nd degree assault, a class D felony, punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to 5 years, a fine of up to $5,000 or both.

Bail is set at $15,000.

THE CASE

On Feb. 12, 2022, the TPS was contacted by the Fagatogo Police Central Station (FPS) to relay a domestic violence case that was reported by a woman at her residence in the Tafuna-Iliili area.

Police from the TPS contacted the woman who reported the matter and the victim told police that she had a verbal argument with her husband and he had grabbed her shoulder and yanked her and she fell onto the bed. Her husband then attempted to hit her with a cane, then went and grabbed a rock from behind the door and again attempted to hit her face with it.

Officers responded to the scene and met up with the reporter at her residence where she confirmed to officers that she and her husband had had verbal arguments over the phone the whole day regarding a credit card.

The victim stated that her husband had got off from work and started yelling at her telling her he does not own that credit card and threw it at her. The victim stated that she went into a room and her husband followed her in, yelling and trying to argue with her. It’s at this time, he allegedly tried to assault her.

The victim stated she then ran outside of the house away from her husband to look for a phone to contact the police station for help. The victim’s 12-year-old daughter witnessed the incident.

The victim’s daughter stated that she was sleeping when she heard her father yelling at her mother, and woke up. At that time she saw her dad holding a cane and attempting to hit her mother with it. Her father then went and grabbed a rock from behind the door and attempt to hit her mother with it — pointing it at her face. The witness further stated that her mother got up and ran out of the house, and she followed her.

The defendant was apprehended and taken to the TPS for further investigation, where he was Mirandized before he was later transported to the TCF and, booked and confined.