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Police v Latulipe [2026] WSSC 5 (2 March 2026)

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF SAMOA
Police v Latulipe [2026] WSSC 5 (2 March 2026)

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF SAMOA
HELD AT MULINUU

BETWEEN:

P O L I C E

Informant

A N D:

AQUINAS LATULIPE, male of Taufusi, Lalovaea & Savalalo.

Accused

Counsel: Mr. Paramore for Prosecution
Mr. Sauaga for the Accused

Sentence: 02^nd March 2026

ORAL SENTENCE

The Charges

1. Aquinas, you appear for sentence on two charges of burglary and two charges of theft shown on the Charging Document 14/04/2025.

The Offending:

2. According to the Prosecution Summary of Facts stated 10th of April 2025 admitted by you through your Counsel, your offending which is shown on the Court file (2025-01100) involved 2 burglaries and 2 thefts at AH Liki Wholesale Taufusi on the 10th February followed by the 14th February last year.
3. On the first burglary, you stole $650 worth of goods. On the second burglary, you stole $530 worth of goods – total amount $1,180.
   

Background of the Accused:

4. Aquinas, you are now 22 years of age, the Pre- Sentence Report stating that you were born on 08/09/2003. You have a partner Donna and are said to be the father of 2 children. You grew up in Taufusi, and you were adopted by a paternal aunty so you could go to NZ and did so attending James Cook College. However, after a year, you returned to Samoa as you were said to be homesick.
5. You worked briefly for your uncle in a furniture shop and then later found work at a car wash in Fugalei.
6. You have a prior conviction for manslaughter entered on the 1st of May 2024 where you and your brother were involved in the beating death of a male at Vaimea. Your brother was imprisoned but you were spared from Tanumalala Prison. In sentencing, Justice Nelson made the point that in:
   • ‘’considering of your age and the other factors I have referred to, I am going to give you a chance to be better than him. I assess your prospects of rehabilitation to be good, you are a smart guy, you went to school in New Zealand, you have a partner and a 5 month old baby’’.
7. Regrettably, Justice Nelson was, unusually wrong when he thought you were a smart guy with good prospects of rehabilitation. You failed to comply with the terms of your community based sentence he imposed and were sentenced to 1 month imprisonment for breach in May last year of that sentence. You were also convicted and sentenced for aggravated burglary in April last year for your burglary and theft for your offending at Pacific Freight on 22/02/2025. So the burglaries and thefts, you appear before me for sentence on pre – date or that at Pacific Freight.

The Victims:

8. In respect of the Victim Impact Report and the impact on the victim, the victim’s speak of their dismay and anger resulting from your offending at Ah Liki Wholesale. The company speaks of the damage to their surveillance cameras as well as to the iron sheets that you removed to gain entry to the property. The two security officers who were on duty that night were also fired because of their failure to prevent the burglary, so it has quite a significant impact on the company.

Aggravating and Mitigating Features of the Offending:

9. The aggravating features of your offending are as follows:
   • High prevalence of burglaries, particularly the Apia area and;
   • You committed two separate burglaries and thefts against the same victim;
   • Third, you committed these burglaries and thefts while you were serving a community- based sentence for manslaughter.
10. There are no mitigating features to your offending.

Aggravating Features in respect of the Offender:

11. Aggravating features personal to you as an offender – you have a prior conviction for manslaughter. It is however different in nature, so there’s no uplift to the sentence. Similarly, the offending at the Pacific Freight occurred after this offending, so there is also no uplift on that basis either.

Mitigating Factors Personal to the Offender:

12. Mitigating factors personal to you as an offender, your Counsel submits:
    • (a) your personal circumstances and;
    • (b) your early guilty plea.
13. You are entitled to full discount on your guilty plea. When considering personal circumstances and children as a mitigating factor however, this involves a recognition that the welfare of an offender’s children is a relevant factor when sentencing. But in extending such a discount, evidence of impact on a child’s welfare necessarily must support such a discount. For example, where a father plays no role in a child’s life, no such discount is necessary.
14. In this case, there is no evidence of what role if any you have in your children’s’ lives and what impact imprisonment will have on them. The only statement is for example from Donna saying that with 2 children now, she now especially needs your assistance. Although, this shows no clear impact on the children, but instead on Donna, nevertheless, for today’s purposes, I will extend a discount from the start point for personal circumstances.

Discussion:

15. Aquinas, Nelson J gave you an opportunity to change your life with a non – custodial sentence. He encouraged you to change your life, and you haven’t. Since that opportunity was given to you in May 2024, you have committed aggravated burglary, these 2 burglaries and these thefts - and all within 12 months of that sentence having being imposed by Nelson J. Having given you a non-custodial sentence, you then failed to comply with the terms of your community-based sentence, for which you received a short imprisonment term.
16. Your Counsel again seeks a non – custodial sentence for you. That is out of the question given your background and failure to comply with such sentences.
17. Unlike Nelson J, I regret to say that I do not see in your conduct any real prospect at the moment of rehabilitation. You and your brother took part in the beating that killed a man. That should have weighed heavily on your conscience and prompted you to change your life. Yet it appears to have meant little to you. While still serving your community-based sentence for manslaughter, you went on to commit further offences of burglary and theft.
18. Offending while subject to a community based sentence is a very serious aggravating factor. Defendants like you Aquina must understand that such community based sentences carry with them an expectation of law abiding behaviour. To commit serious crimes while under a community sentence is to defy that expectation and it shows the failure of that sentence to deter you from further offending. Defendants who commit offending whilst under community based sentence should expect stern punishment.
19. Before sentencing you, I hope Aquinas I am wrong about your prospects of rehabilitation and that having children and a partner Donna might make you change your life and become a good father and partner. That will however be for you to decide what road your life takes you in the future.
20. Having regard to the aggravating factors of the offending, I view 18 months start point as appropriate. I deduct 2 months for your personal circumstances and 4 months for your guilty plea leaving an end sentence of 12 months’ imprisonment, less time remanded in custody.

Result:

21. Accordingly, you are convicted and sentenced as follows, less RIC:
    • Burglary charge # 3 on the charging document dated 14/04/2025 – 12 months’ imprisonment on a totality basis
    • Remaining burglary charge & 2 theft charges - 6 months’ imprisonment, on each charge all to be served concurrently with the burglary charge.

In determining sentence release date, prison authorities to take into account sentences for aggravated burglary and breach of community based sentence that I’ve already being imposed.

JUSTICE CLARKE