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Washington State’s Christian Haangana, Fa’avae Fa’avae arrested on felony vandalism charges

Freshman lineman Christian Haangana, shown during practice Thursday, Aug. 3, 2017 at Washington State University in Pullman. (Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review)
Freshman lineman Christian Haangana, shown during practice Thursday, Aug. 3, 2017 at Washington State University in Pullman. (Jesse Tinsley / The Spokesman-Review)Buy a print of this photo
By Theo Lawson theol@spokesman.com(509) 459-5584

PULLMAN – Christian Haangana and Fa’avae Fa’avae, both members of the Washington State football team, were arrested Saturday morning on felony vandalism charges after reportedly stomping on and damaging multiple vehicles at a college apartment complex near the WSU campus, Pullman Police Commander Chris Tennant confirmed to The Spokesman-Review.

Pullman Radio News first reported the alleged incident involving Haangana, a redshirt junior offensive lineman, Fa’avae, a redshirt sophomore inside linebacker, and a third student-athlete, WSU soccer player Makamae Gomera-Stevens.

WSU does not comment on ongoing police investigations and a school official said both teams will handle the matter internally. The suspects haven’t been charged with felonies yet and any formal charging would be done by the prosecutor’s office, Tennant said.

According to Tennant, the suspects had left the area and were being trailed by a car of witnesses when Pullman Police were called. A county deputy reached the suspects before Pullman Police did and made the arrest on North Grand Ave. after speaking with both the suspects and witnesses.

The suspects denied any involvement in the incident, Tennant said, but damage to the cars matched the description from the witnesses, as did the profile of all three suspects.

Both of the cars found at Cougar Ridge Apartments on College Hill, a Mercedes sport utility vehicle and a sedan, had damage to the hood and were “dented and caved in,” Tennant said. The windshield of one of the vehicles had also been smashed. Pullman Police have yet to determine how the damage was caused or the motive of the incident, and it’s unclear if alcohol was involved.

The suspects were arrested on a count of second degree malicious mischief because it was determined the reported damage exceeded $750, Tennant said.

Haangana is a reserve offensive lineman from Milpitas, California, who appeared in all 26 games each of the last two seasons for the Cougars, mostly on special teams. He projects to be a backup offensive guard for the team in 2019.

Fa’avae, a Carson, California, native, redshirted in 2017 and made 10 appearances in 2018, recording six tackles and 2 1/2 sacks. He figures to be part of the team’s linebacker rotation again in 2019, but isn’t projected to start for WSU.

Gomera-Stevens, a forward for WSU’s soccer team, enters her junior season with the Cougars after making 41 appearances and 30 starts over the last two years. She’s scored four goals and contributed three assists in 2,052 career minutes played.