Woman claims brother broke into her house and also their Aunt’s house

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On June 29, 2025, a woman called the Tafuna Police Substation with evidence that her brother had allegedly broken into her house.

The defendant was later arrested and charged with:

Count 1: Burglary in the Second Degree (DV), a class C felony punishable by a term of imprisonment not to exceed seven years, a fine not to exceed $5,000, or both imprisonment and fine;

Count 2: Stealing (DV), a class C felony punishable by a term of imprisonment not to exceed seven years, a fine not to exceed $5,000 or an amount equal to twice the amount of gain from the commission gain from the crime up to a maximum of $20,000, or both; and,

Count 3: Trespass, 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 $5,000.

According to the court affidavit, on June 29th, at around 7:31 p.m., a woman (later identified as the reporter/ suspect’s sister) contacted the TPS and reported that she saw on a video that her brother, Ta’ai Taufete’e (identified as suspect) had broken into her house.

The reporter stated that the suspect entered through the kitchen window.

Police officers responding to the call met up with three witnesses and the reporter. Officers interviewed them about what happened.

According to the reporter, witness #1 and #2 — her cousin and her niece — told her that her brother had broken into her house. They sent videos of the incident and that’s when she decided to report him to the police.

According to witness #1, they came home around afternoon to check on the house and they found out that someone had broken into the house. She stated that witness #2 told her that she saw footprints on the sink. Witness #1 informed the officers that they “locked every door of the house” and went back to their house.

Witness #2, who gave a verbal and written statement, stated that she came with her mother to check on the house in the afternoon. She explained that when they got inside the house, she looked in the kitchen and saw that the dishes had been moved to the side and she saw footprints on the sink. At that point she notified her mother, not the police.

At around 6:00- 7:00 p.m., she said witness #3 texted her that Ta’ai had broken into her aunt’s house and sent her videos of the incident. They went to check on the house and found that an Echo blower was missing.

Witness #3 told police that it was during her family’s evening prayer, “she heard someone walking outside of the neighbor’s house.” She went to the window and that’s when she saw Ta’ai breaking in. She said he used a ladder to climb through the kitchen window into the house and was in there for 30 minutes. At that point, she told police she messaged witness #1 to tell her about the incident.

After interviewing the witnesses #1 and #2, police officers located Ta’ai Taufete’e at his residence and notified him about the incident. He was transported to TPS for further investigation.

Upon arrival at the station, he was Mirandized. The suspect understood his rights and agreed to make a statement and answer questions.

According to the suspect’s verbal statement, the reason he went inside the house was because it was getting dark and he went to turn on the lights. He explained he went inside the house through the kitchen window.

The suspect also claimed that the victim — his sister — called him and he told her he was trying to turn on the lights because it was getting too dark. However, his sister told him to leave and he left.

The suspect was booked and confined at the Tafuna Correctional Facility to await the next available sitting of the District Court.