Woman says she just couldn’t listen to it anymore

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On June 10, 2025, a woman called the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) and requested assistance regarding their neighbor who was allegedly intoxicated and causing a disturbance.

The suspect was later arrested and charged with:

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

Count 2: Assault in the Third Degree, a class C misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to fifteen days, a fine of $300, or both.

The defendant’s bail was set at $500.

Court records state that on June 10th, at around 10:07 p.m., a woman (later identified as the reporter) contacted the TPS regarding their neighbor, Francis Bethea (later identified as the suspect) claiming he was causing a disturbance at where they rent, and was also shouting profanities around their neighborhood.

Police officers responded to the call and upon arrival at the scene, they observed the suspect fleeing to the back of the Luisa Laundromat. The officers chased the suspect on foot and apprehended the suspect behind the Laundromat, during which he resisted arrest while officers were trying to restrain him.

Police officers also detected a strong smell of alcohol emitting from the suspect’s breath and clothing.

The reporter was interviewed and explained that the suspect is her neighbor. She stated that he was intoxicated and started to challenge her husband to a fight. Her husband ignored the suspect but then he started shouting profanities in Samoan around the house nonstop. The reporter claimed that she felt threatened and scared of what the suspect might do to her and her husband so she called the police.

The reporter’s husband was later interviewed and corroborated his wife’s story.

Bethea was booked and confined at the Tafuna Correctional facility to await the next available sitting of the District Court.

The defendant is identified as a 36-year-old citizen of Samoa.