Underage victim of alleged assault in the wrong place at the wrong time

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On November 7, 2024, a male individual and his 17-year-old nephew walked into the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) to file a report regarding an alleged assault of the minor by 4 suspects.

No arrests have been made, but two of the suspects were charged with:

Count 1: Public Peace Disturbance, a class B misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for six months, a fine of $500, or both; and,

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

The defendants’ bail was set at $5,000 each.

(To protect the minor, his name and his family’s name are not identified.)

According to court affidavits, on Nov. 7, 2024 at approximately 11:35 a.m., a male individual and his 17-year-old nephew walked into the TPS to file a report regarding an alleged assault. The officer interviewed the minor in the presence of his uncle (reporter) where he provided a verbal statement.

The officers also requested medical assistance advising the victim that he be seen by a physician due to the severity of his injuries. The victim initially refused, but agreed later when his uncle agreed that he needed to see a physician. After being seen by the doctor, the victim and his aunt (reporter’s wife) went back to the TPS and submitted the victim’s medical report.

The victim was seen by the attending physician at LBJ, where an assessment was conducted. According to the physician the victim sustained a minor laceration and an abrasion (2cm x 1 cm) of the left ear, swelling on his left forehead section, small bruises on his upper right arm, small bruises on his bilateral lower leg, and abrasion on the posterior of his neck.

The victim gave a written statement of the incident that caused his injuries.

According to the victim, on Nov. 6, 2024 at around 8:00 p.m., he went to the store to meet up with his friends and hang out. When he was leaving the store, he was hit on the neck with what he perceived to be a piece of 2x4 lumber. He stated that he fell on the ground and felt like being kicked.

The victim’s aunt also informed the officers that she has a video which was found by her niece on Instagram. She stated that her niece saw the video and immediately informed her. The officers were given the Instagram page and username and found the post on one of the suspects’ pages.

The victim viewed the video in the presence of the officers and he was able to identify only three of the suspects who had assaulted him: Pesamino Tolai was the one who punched him; Avele Tolai was the one who kicked him; and a minor was the one who hit him on his head with a lumber. The lumber was actually a small, thin piece of wood.

Furthermore, there was another victim who was also seen being assaulted in the video. However, the victim only knew the other victim’s first name.

On Nov. 11th, Pesamino Tolai (suspect #1) was brought in for questioning.

He was Mirandized and provided a verbal and written statement.

According to Pesamino he was asleep and was woken up by a group of kids requesting for him to join them in front of the store. The court affidavit states the names of the other suspects involved — Avele Tolai, Josiah Tolai and a minor.

Pesamino stated that he threw a rock at the victim and punched him. He said the victim fell to the ground, and he continued to punch him. Pesamino was released after questioning.

No arrests seem to have been made.

There were no eyewitnesses present at the location of the assault.

Investigation of the assault was based on the statement from the victim and the video provided, which were both corroborated by Pesamino Tolai’s written statement and admission.

Additional information was verbally provided by the victim in the presence of his guardian. He stated that the underlying reason for the assault was regarding something involving the other victim and one of his friends. He stated he “got caught in the assault by mistake”.