The Attorney General’s Office is applying to the High Court to appoint an independent prosecutor for the case of the director of the American Samoa Historic Preservation Office, Epifania Suafoa-Tauai.
At a status hearing on Suafoa-Tauai’s case on Tuesday in District Court, Assistant Attorney General Alex Theohares informed the court that the Attorney General’s Office is terminating its prosecution of this case and is applying to the court to appoint an independent prosecutor to handle the matter.
Suafoa-Tauai is charged with two misdemeanor offenses; third degree assault and public peace disturbance. The government alleges that the defendant punched the arm of a cashier at Kruse Store in Leone on the morning of February 16. It is also alleged that she grabbed a metal stapler and attempted to strike the cashier with it. She then grabbed a metal shopping cart and rammed it into the cashier’s stomach.
District Court Judge Jon Clemens granted the government’s request for a continuance and set a status hearing for May 8th. The judge told the assistant attorney general that the defendant is entitled to a speedy trial and the government should work fast on its application for an independent prosecutor. Suafoa-Tauai’s attorney, Neil Connors, informed the court that the defense has not received any discovery from the government in this case.
