No bail for husband accused in domestic violence case

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — A man accused of assaulting his wife is now in custody after he was arrested last month. The defendant also made his initial appearance in court last month.

The defendant is charged with 2nd- degree assault, involving domestic violence, a class D felony, punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to five years, a fine of up to $5,000.

Due to what happened, the court decided to hold the defendant in custody without bond.

THE CASE

According to the government’s case, a woman walked into the TPS on the morning of June 15, 2022 to report domestic violence within her family where a man assaulted his wife. The woman further stated to police that the defendant’s wife, who is her sister didn’t what the matter to be reported to law enforcement because she (victim) doesn’t want her husband (defendant) to get into trouble.

Three officers responded to the area where the alleged assault took place at the family’s home and met up with a male who was standing in front of the house. The male was later identified as the husband of the victim, the defendant in this matter.

When officers approached the defendant, they smelled a strong odor of alcohol coming from his person. The defendant verbally told officers that his wife had already been transported to the LBJ hospital for treatment after he assaulted her with a piece of lumber.

The defendant was placed inside a police unit and was transported to the TPS for questioning.

Investigators were able to obtain a verbal statement from the victim regarding the alleged incident.

According to the victim’s statement, she was sleeping at her sister’s house in Ottoville when her husband showed up and started a verbal argument around 5:30a.m while her sister’s family was in bed.

The victim told investigators that the defendant was drunk and tried to cause trouble at the house. She told him to go back home and wait for her there but the defendant refused. Out of nowhere, the victim said she was shocked when the defendant struck her head with the lumber. After the defendant struck her head with it, he immediately turned around and fled the scene.

The defendant was Mirandized and told investigators that he went to confront his wife about why she slept over at her sister’s house. During their conversation outside of the sister’s house, his wife told him that she wanted to end their relationship.

The defendant said he was very angry and asked his wife to explain the reason why she wanted to end their relationship. Out of anger, the defendant said he grabbed a piece of lumber and struck his wife in the head. He then fled the area and went home.