The verdict in the bench trial of Ollie Schuster, charged with one count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and one count of possession of methamphetamine, was delivered in the Trial Division of the High Court Monday morning.
Acting Associate Justice Elvis Patea, flanked by Associate Judges Faamausili Pomele and Paepae Faiai, found Schuster guilty of both counts.
The defendant, who has been at the Territorial Correctional Facility since her arrest in July of last year, will be sentenced on January 9, 2026.
Schuster went to the Fagatogo Post Office on July 26, 2024, to pick up a Home Depot box which was addressed to her.
She told customs officers that inside the box were t-shirts and candy. But upon opening the box, customs agents found, under t-shirts, a second box that was wrapped in a back plastic bag. Inside this second box were 38 vacuum-sealed packages of a white crystalline substance, which tests proved were crystal methamphetamine.
The total weight of the ice was 39.9 lbs.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys Genera Faustina Filimona, Sara Charpentier, and Alex Theohares. Schuster was represented by Assistant Public Defender Stanislaw Krawieski, who said he intends to appeal the verdict.
