Son allegedly tries to chase father out of his own home

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On May 22, 2025, a distressed father contacted the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) regarding his son who allegedly threatened him with a machete and tried to chase him out of his own home.

The suspect fled the scene but was later charged with:

Count 1: Private Peace Disturbance (DV) with Penalty Enhancement, a class C misdemeanor but with a penalty enhancement to one class above the class otherwise provided, a class B misdemeanor. If found guilty, punishable by a term of imprisonment for up to six months, a fine of $500, or both imprisonment and fine;

Count 2: Assault in the Third Degree (DV) with Penalty Enhancement, a class C misdemeanor but with a penalty enhancement to one class above the class otherwise provided, a class B misdemeanor. If found guilty, punishable by a term of imprisonment for up to six months, a fine of $500, or both;

Count 3: Property Damage in the Third Degree with Penalty Enhancement, a class B misdemeanor but with a penalty enhancement to one class above the class otherwise provided, a class A misdemeanor. If found guilty, punishable by a term of imprisonment for up to one year, a fine of $1,000, or both;

Count 4: Assault in the Third Degree, a class C misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to fifteen days, a fine of $300, or both;

Count 5: Property Damage in the Third Degree, a class B misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to six months, a fine of $500, or both; and,

Count 6: Resisting Arrest, 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 $3,000.

According to the court affidavit, on May 22nd, at approximately 9:20 a.m, a father (the victim) contacted the TPS to report that his son, Kid Bartley Jr. (the suspect) allegedly threatened him with a machete and damaged inside and outside of their residence.

Police officers responded to the said call and upon arrival at the scene, they met up with the victim who briefed them regarding the incident.

According to the victim, his son threatened him with a machete, and also yelled profanities while “hitting the body of their house”. Kid told him to get off their property and claimed that the house now belongs to him.

The suspect then cut off the water line to their home causing it to splash all over the place.

The victim stated that he was scared because his elderly mother was inside the house and she wouldn't tolerate the disturbance caused by the suspect. He also feared that Kid won’t hesitate to come at him with a machete.

The officers proceeded on foot to search for the suspect but were unable to locate him. The victim was advised to contact them again if the suspect returned home.

At about 11:55 a.m. the victim called the authorities again and reported that the suspect had returned and was again behaving aggressively and cutting objects around the property.

The officers proceeded again to the scene and upon arrival they met up with the victim. The victim informed the officers that the suspect was at their back kitchen (ūmu) behind their home.

The officers approached Kid from different directions and as they got closer, they called out the suspect’s name and ordered him to put the machete down.

However, the suspect stood up and pointed the machete towards one of the officers and slowly walked towards them and asked them “what the **** they were doing there?”

Doing the interaction, the suspect was about 20 feet away from the officers and had the machete in his hand the whole time. He then threw a coconut at one of the officers which nearly hit him.

Kid fled from police to the side of another family’s residence directly into the bushes. The officers ran after him and ordered him to stop running but the suspect refused to cooperate. The officers canvassed the area where the suspect ran but their efforts were unsuccessful.

The officers returned to the police unit and started to canvas the road near the Turtle & Shark landmark. When they turned around in front of a nearby residence and headed back to the victim’s home, they observed the suspect walking towards his home again.

One of the officers got close to the suspect and called out to him and ordered him to stop through the PA system. The suspect was asked to drop the machete and to surrender but the suspect continued to walk away.

The officers stopped and as they exited the unit, the suspect ran towards them with the machete in his hand and rammed the front passenger door of the unit which left a visible dent. Kid fled towards the opposite direction from his home and the officers chased after him but again lost sight of him.

According to the affidavit, due to the presence of a machete, the officers proceeded with extreme caution when approaching the suspect.

While handling the said matter, the officers were dispatched to another call which required their assistance, leaving the suspect still at large.

The defendant is identified as a 32-year-old U.S National.