Dispute over missing cell phone … escalates

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On October 6, 2024, a male individual called the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) to report an alleged peace disturbance and assault on him by another male individual at a bar.

The suspect was later apprehended and charged with:

Count 1: Public Peace DIsturbanse, a class B misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to six months, a fine of $500, or both.

Count 2: Assault in the Third Degree, a class A misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to one year, a fine of $1,000, or both.

The defendant’s bail was set at $500.

On October 6th, at approximately 2:00 a.m., a male individual (later identified as the victim) contacted the TPS for assistance regarding another male individual Salefoi Ponoali’ifiali’i (suspect) who was allegedly causing a disturbance at the Bowling Alley Sports Bar.

At around 2:06 a.m., two police units were dispatched to the call and upon arrival at the scene, they met up with the reporter/ victim. The other officers proceeded to locate the suspect and apprehend him.

At around 2:13 a.m., both units arrived at the TPS with the suspect while the victim was on his way to the TPS utilizing his personal vehicle.

At about 2:21 a.m., the suspect was Mirandized and he agreed to make a verbal statement. According to the suspect, the victim invited him to come to the bar. He also said that he told the victim he doesn’t have money for transportation but the victim told him that he will pay for everything. Furthermore, he explained that as the night went on while they were partying, he gave his phone to the victim to hold. However, after the bar was closed, he asked the victim for his phone back but the victim refused and said he never gave him the phone. The suspect admitted he got angry at the victim and he smashed a bottle against the container at the back of the bar’s parking lot which caused the bottle to shatter all over the victim, causing minor injuries.

The victim was also interviewed at the TPS where he stated that he called the police in need of assistance regarding what happened outside the bar’s parking lot. The victim explained that the suspect never gave him his phone which caused the suspect to act vicious. The victim stated that the suspect yelled out profanities in Samoan at him and then approached him where he got so angry and threw a beer bottle at him.

He said the suspect also punched him in the jaw which caused him to faint and fall to the ground, causing minor scratches on his left elbow arm area.

The broken bottle which hit the container and scattered in pieces hit the victim’s body but there were no open wounds. The victim was checked by the EMS at the TPS when he arrived due to minor injuries caused by the shattered beer bottle.

The suspect was Mirandized. He was later booked and confined at the Tafuna Correctional Facility until the next available sitting of the District Court.

The defendant is identified as a 21-year-old citizen of Samoa.