Man arrested for allegedly stealing a phone

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — On August 14, 2025, a concerned citizen contacted the Fagatogo Police Station (FPS) and reported a man who allegedly stole a phone that was retrieved during the chase.

Police officers apprehended the suspect and he was later charged with:

Count 1: Stealing, a class C felony punishable by a term of imprisonment not to exceed seven years, a fine of not more than $5,000.00, or both imprisonment and fine; and,

Count 2: Resisting Arrest, a class A misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to one year, a fine of $1,000.00, or both.

The defendant’s bail was set at $5,000.00.

According to the court affidavit, on August 14th, at around 10;47 a.m, a woman (later identified as the reporter) called the FPS and reported that a phone had been stolen fro the Bluesky booth at the Fagatogo Market place. The suspect was later identified as Armymoli Liaina.

Police officers responded to the call and met up with the reporter who told them that the suspect had grabbed the phone and ran off near the old Nia Marie building.

Efforts to locate the suspect ensued, and they spotted him near the Tutuila store. Authorities called out to the suspect to surrender but he attempted to flee.

The officers were able to apprehend the suspect, who resisted arrested and yelled out that “He didn’t do anything”.

The suspect continued to resist arrest so officers had to pin him down to detain him. The suspect was transported to the FPS for further investigation; while the victim was asked to make her way to the station regarding the incident.

According to the victim, the suspect came to her booth and asked to see their phones that were on sale. She gave one of them to him to look at it, while she served her other two customers. Allegedly, it was during this time that the suspect quietly opened the box and took the phone out and ran off with it.

She informed the officers that she couldn’t leave her booth because she was the only one working, so instead the two customers chased after the suspect. The customers were able to retrieve the phone and returned it to her.

The victim also mentioned that they had a camera installed in the booth and footage would be made available at a later time.

The stolen phone was valued at $240.00.

The footage was later viewed by the officers where it showed the suspect put the phone into a bag and leave the box on the counter.

Further, the victim identified Liaina as the suspect when she saw him as he was being directed into the FPS interrogation room.

When Liaina arrived at the station, he continued to resist arrest and was reluctant to cooperate. Authorities patted the suspect down and did an inventory of his bag and found marijuana inside. The Vice and Narcotic Unit were notified regarding the inventory.

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