Underage drunk allegedly threatens family with machete

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On February 28, 2025, a man contacted the Fagatogo Police Station (FPS) requesting assistance regarding his younger brother who allegedly threatened their mother and family members with a machete.

The suspect was detained by his older brother to await the authorities, who arrested him and charged with:

Count 1: Private Peace Disturbance (DV), a class C misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to fifteen days, a fine of $300, or both;

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

Count 3: Underage Consumption of Alcoholic Beverage, a class B misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to six months, a fine of $500, or both.

The defendant’s bail was set at $1,000.

(Samoa News has withheld the names of those involved to protect the identities of the minors in this case.)

According to the court affidavit, on Feb. 28th, at around 9:07 p.m., a woman (later identified as the reporter) contacted the FPS and requested assistance regarding an intoxicated man who was yelling profanities in the village.

Shortly after, the reporter called the FPS to disregard her request due to the fact that the matter had been settled.

However, on the same day at around 9:38 p.m., a man contacted the FPS to report that his younger brother, who was heavily intoxicated, was shouting profanities in Samoan at him and some of his family members. The two calls were later identified as being about the same man.

The male reporter further stated that the suspect was threatening to hurt their mother and his nine year-old niece with a machete. He had intervened and tried to remove the machete from the suspect, but the suspect punched him in the face three times.

Police officers responded to the call and upon arrival at the scene they observed a man (later identified as the victim/ reporter) and his mother detaining or holding the suspect on the ground. The suspect was apprehended and transported to the FPS for further investigation.

At the station, the officers met with the victim and interviewed him.

According to the victim, he and his wife reside in Tafuna. His female cousin contacted and informed him that his younger brother (suspect) was very intoxicated and yelling out profanities in Samoan at his mother and other family members for unknown reasons. The reporter stated that he heard the suspect yelling in the background while his cousin was crying.

His cousin told him that the suspect had a machete in his hand and was threatening them by standing in the middle of their house and pointing it at her and the suspect’s mother.

After being notified, the reporter drove from Tafuna to their residence to assist his mother and family. When he arrived at their residence on the east side, he observed his younger brother (suspect) sitting on the dining table in the main living room and holding a machete.

The reporter/ victim attempted to remove the machete but the suspect refused, leading to the suspect punching him three times in the face and the victim defending himself by engaging in a physical altercation with the suspect.

He was able to detain the suspect and hold him to the ground while contacting the police for assistance.The reporter stated that he detected a strong odor of alcohol emitting from the suspect’s breath while he was detaining him.

According to the victim, the suspect is 19 years old and under the legal age mandated by law to consume alcohol which is 21 years of age.

After interviewing the victim, one of the officers briefed the assigned officers regarding one of the witnesses he spoke to and interviewed (the female cousin who resides with the suspect in the same house).

He stated that the suspect was given money by his mother to purchase some groceries from the store to prepare dinner. However, after a few hours he never returned home. His mother then went to look for the suspect and saw the suspect drinking on the seawall with some of his friends and bothering people shopping at the store.

The witness/ victim further stated that the suspect got upset when his mother told him to go home with her. When the suspect arrived at the house he started shouting profanities in a very loud manner which alarmed the neighbors. Moreover, the suspect then took a machete and threatened to kill his mother and his other family members.

As the suspect was yelling and holding the machete in the living room, his two nieces (6 months and 9 year-old) were inside crying.

The investigation disclosed that the suspect’s 23-year-old disabled sister was also in the residence when the incident occurred. The victim claimed that the suspect has been intoxicated and shouted out profanities in their residence several times in the past but has never been reported.

The suspect was booked and transported by the authorities to the Tafuna Correctional Facility to await the next sitting of the District Court.

During the time of transporting the suspect, according to the affidavit, he spontaneously spoke and confessed to consuming alcohol and using a machete to threaten his family members. Police officers also detected an odor of alcohol emitting  from the suspect’s breath and observed him having slurred speech.

The victim refused medical assistance from EMS and officers did not observe any visible injuries.

The defendant is identified as a 19-year-old U.S National.