Man who goes to trial this month for 2020 drug sting, arrested again

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The driver of a pickup truck that was pulled over by police for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) is also being charged with unlawful possession of drugs.

Mikaele Alesana, who has a pending drug case in High Court from 2020, made his initial appearance in District Court.

Alesana is charged with unlawful possession of methamphetamine (meth), a felony; and driving under the influence of alcohol, a class A misdemeanor.

THE CASE

On Aug. 18, several officers patrolling in the Tafuna area witnessed a speeding vehicle heading west bound and pulled it over in front of the Veterans Memorial Stadium. The driver was identified as Mikaele Alesana.

A  field sobriety test  was administered and Alesana failed it, leading to his arrest for DUI and his vehicle impounded to the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS).

A body search was conducted and netted a glass pipe containing a white crystalline substance inside his back pocket. The glass pipe was cracked but police were still able to collect residue and test it. (The substance yielded positive results for meth.)

Police also found in Alesana’s possession, a bag that he said belonged to him, which contained two empty small green straws and empty stamp-sized baggies.

During his interview with police, Alesana revealed that he has a pending case in High Court, in which he is charged with violating local drug laws.

PENDING CASE

Alesana was arrested after armed detectives executed a search warrant on his home and vehicle in June 2020. Alesana was subsequently charged with unlawful possession of meth with intent to distribute; unlawful possession of meth; unlawful possession of marijuana with intent to distribute; and unlawful possession of marijuana — all felonies.

According to the government, it was in January of 2020 that a ‘confidential informant’ (CI) provided information to police regarding a home in Tafuna allegedly being used to run drugs. It was allegedly led by Alesana and another person, and was operated out of the small shack behind Alesana’s house.

In this case, Alesana was released on a $10,000 surety bond and one of the conditions was that he remains law abiding. His trial is set for this month.