Owner of Le Aute charged following raid

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The woman identified as the owner of Le Aute, Tumuatasi “Mama” Lefatia is the only individual who has so far been charged following a police raid of Le Aute premises on Wednesday.

The club is situated on the border of Futiga and Malaeloa.

Lefatia is facing four charges: two counts of possession with intent to distribute, one for crystal methamphetamine or “ice” and the other for marijuana and two counts of possession of unlawful substances, one for marijuana and the second charge for methamphetamine.

The defendant, who was arrested during the raid, made her initial appearance in District Court this afternoon

She is represented by private attorney Marcellus Uiagalelei while Assistant Attorney General Woodrow Pengally is prosecuting the case.

District Court Judge Pro Tem Gwen Tauiliiili Langkilde set bail at $100,000.

According to court filings, police executed a search warrant of Le Aute in connection with a felony case involving a suspect identified as Manu Lefatia.

Lefatia, an inmate at the Territorial Correctional Facility is accused of shooting a man on August 12 in Leone. Lefatia is said to be Tumuatasi Lefatia’s son.

The raid of Le Aute was conducted at 6:10 Wednesday morning and according to the court filings, police found the defendant known as Mama in a bedroom in one of the buildings on the north west corner of the property.

A search of the bedroom produced a clear baggie containing hand rolled cigarettes with green leafy substances and $70 in various bills.

There was also a second clear baggie containing 19 hand rolled cigarettes with green leafy substances.

According to the government, also found during the search of the bedroom were theee small Ziploc baggies containing a white crystalline substance. There was also a pouch in which 33 stamp sized empty baggies commonly used to distribute ice were found. Police said there were three other stamp sized baggies with a small amount of crystalline substance which appeared to be methamphetamine inside.

According to court filings, the defendant didn’t seem surprised when police pointed out what they had found. She just stated, “Does it have my name on it.”

Also found in the bedroom was a safe which could not be opened and was taken by police.

A search of another bedroom found a stamp sized baggie containing a white crystalline substance appearing to be meth, says court documents.

They also found on a shelf in a laundry room what appeared to be marijuana seeds.

Elsewhere in a pool hall, police found in a compartment above a pool table a bandana with two glass pipes which are commonly used to smoke ice, containing a white crystalline substance inside.

Police took Lefatia into custody.

The government says at the substation west, field tests were conducted and the green leafy susbstance tested positive as marijuana while the white crystalline substance was positive for ice.

Lefatia did not wish to make a statement.

After her initial appearance in District Court this afternoon, the defendant was returned to the TCF.

Her preliminary examination is set for next Wednesday.