Puka’s brother Samson Nacua didn’t purposely steal SUV, LASD says
Samson Nacua took a vehicle that didn’t belong to him without permission.
But he didn’t mean to.
That’s what the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Dept. determined after investigating the events that led to the arrest of Nacua and another man, Trey Rose, for allegedly stealing an SUV belonging to Lakers rookie Adou Thiero early Dec. 18.
The sheriff’s department has asked the L.A. County district attorney not to press charges against Nacua and Rose after determining that the two men thought they were driving a vehicle belonging to Nacua’s younger brother, Rams receiver Puka Nacua, a representative for the LASD West Hollywood station told The Times on Friday.
It turns out the NFL star happens to own an SUV of the same model and color as Thiero’s, only a year or two older, according to the LASD representative. Nacua and Rose thought they were picking up Puka Nacua’s vehicle from a valet parking location in Beverly Hills but ended up with Thiero’s SUV instead.
The LASD representative called it a case of “mistaken vehicle identity, basically.”
Thiero does not want to press charges, according to the LASD representative.
Nacua played four years of college football at Utah and one at Brigham Young. A receiver like his brother, Nacua now plays for the United Football League, spending the last two seasons with the now-defunct Michigan Panthers. In April, Nacua received a one-game suspension without pay after video showed him slapping a fan at a game.
He was selected by the Birmingham Stallions in this week’s UFL draft, which included all players who were on active rosters last season.