|
21 year jailed for one year
Tuesday,
June 23, 2009
The High Court handed down the maximum sentence for a misdemeanor conviction sending Vaitele Tago to one year in prison for threatening a student.
Tago was initially charged with kidnapping and first degree assault however the government in a plea agreement reduced the charge to false imprisonment, a misdemeanor. The government said it cannot find the victim in this case.
The victim had alleged that Tago had ordered him to get into his car, and had threatened him with a gun. The victim managed to jump out of the vehicle while it was still moving and got away.
Kruse said the defendant claimed that the victim exposed himself to a younger sibling and that was the cause of what happened. The Chief Justice expressed concerned that the gun which the victim referred to cannot be found. He said there has to be a reason why the victim jumped out of the moving vehicle. Something scared the lights out of this school boy said the judge.
Another concern raised was that the government had to enter a plea agreement because it could not locate the victim. The court questions why this young boy has gone missing, said Kruse,
In sentencing Tago, Kruse said he court will impose the maximum sentence for a misdemeanor charge as the court wants to send a message to the public that this type of behavior is not tolerated.
| 
