Previous Story
Ex-convict back in prison, this time for stealing bush cutter
|
Posted on Aug 31 2011
Ian M. Dela Cruz, a 27-year-old man who has prior criminal convictions, among them his involvement in the killing of a 13-year-old boy in 1998, is back in prison, this time for stealing a bush cutter and violating his probation in two previous cases.
Superior Court Presiding Judge Robert C. Naraja ordered Dela Cruz to serve a total of one year in prison for all three cases.
Dela Cruz pleaded guilty to theft as part of a plea deal; the remaining charges of burglary and resisting arrest were dropped.
In the theft case, Naraja sentenced Dela Cruz to a year in prison, all suspended except for nine months. In the two previous cases, the judge ordered Dela Cruz to serve three months, which will run consecutively with the nine-month prison term for the theft case.
After completing his sentence, Dela Cruz will be placed on three years probation. He was also directed to pay a $100 fine, $100 court fee, $300 probation fee, and $300 restitution for damages.
Dela Cruz was also required to complete a counseling course at the Community Guidance Center.
In his latest case, Dela Cruz stole a bush cutter belonging to Joaquin Blanco on Dec. 30, 2010, on Saipan. Police said that officers responded to a call about a burglary and theft incident at Blanco’s residence in Kagman III. While on their way to respond, two police officers saw Dela Cruz carrying a bush cutter. Dela Cruz ran away, but he was later arrested.
Police learned that Dela Cruz broke into the storage room of the house and stole the bush cutter.
Dela Cruz was one of then three male teenagers who were charged and convicted in the 1998 killing of a 13-year-old boy.
In 2002, Dela Cruz reportedly led three other young boys in breaking into the Mai Thai Store in Susupe where they stole four bicycles.
In 2003, he was convicted in two theft cases. In 2005, he was convicted again of theft for stealing items from DFS Galleria and Joeten Enterprises, according to court records.
