Man arrested for trespassing: he was picking lemons from a lemon tree

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On July 11, 2025, the Tafuna Police Substation (TPS) received a call regarding a man who was allegedly trespassing and stealing from a residence in Faleniu.

He was arrested and charged with:

Count 1: Trespass, a class B misdemeanor punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to six months, a fine of six months, or both imprisonment or fine; and,

Count 2: Stealing, a class A misdemeanor punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to one year, a fine of $1,000, or both.

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

According to the court affidavit, on July 11th, at about 5:50 a.m., a man (hereinafter the reporter) called the TPS and reported a man, who was later identified as a Vietnamese by the name of Nguyen Cong Nam (suspect), had allegedly unlawfully entered a Judge’s (victim) fenced residence in Faleniu and picked lemons from the lemon tree.

Authorities responded to the call and upon arrival, they observed two men later identified as the reporter and the suspect. The reporter was seen holding the defendant to wait for police arrival at the scene. The reporter also briefed the officers regarding what happened and stated that he saw the suspect standing on top of a lemon tree branch, picking lemons and throwing them on the ground next to his backpack.

The reporter also mentioned that he saw the victim’s son (later identified as the witness) at the scene, standing under the lemon tree and calling out to the suspect to come down. Moreover, the reporter claimed that the suspect was the same person that was caught picking lemons from the witness’s lemon tree last year.

The suspect was handcuffed and placed in the police unit while they interviewed the witness (victim’s son).

The witness verbally stated that early in the morning, one of his cameras notified him of a motion detected in front of his parents’ house. He quickly went to see who it was but he didn’t see anyone. However, a few minutes later, his cousin (reporter) noticed a shadow from the lemon tree and he called out to the suspect to come down. The suspect attempted to flee but the reporter managed to hold him down and called the police for assistance.

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

It was also noted that the suspect cannot speak and understand English so a translator was contacted by the authorities for the suspect. The suspect also had no immigration ID, and there was no information of sponsor or documents from the Immigration.

The officers, in addition, reviewed the camera footage from the victim’s son and they observed a man wearing a black t-shirt and pants. The suspect was seen walking through the victim’s property, climbing the lemon tree and picking lemons.

The defendant is identified as a 37-year-old citizen of Vietnam.