Man in home invasion gets 5 years in prison

Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho slapped yesterday a five-year prison term on Alonzo Uchol Pedro Jr., who broke into an apartment unit and beat up a woman.

Pedro, 20, pleaded guilty to burglary and criminal mischief as part of a plea deal.

He was sentenced to the maximum of five years in prison, to be served day for day without the possibility of parole or early release. He was given credit for 88 days of time served.

Camacho, however, expressed disappointment with the Office of the Attorney General for amending the information to only charge Pedro with burglary without injury, which lowered the maximum that Pedro could be sentenced with to five years instead of 10 years.

Pedro was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine, $100 court costs, and $300 probation fees.

During his three-year probation, Pedro is prohibited from having any contact with the victim, Tae Hwa Noh. He was also required to stay away from Bay View Apartments in San Vicente during that period.

Pedro was ordered to pay $1,565 in restitution to Noh, perform 300 hours of community service, and undergo counseling.

Assistant public defender Michael Sato served as counsel for Pedro. Assistant attorney general Chester Hinds appeared for the government.

Pedro broke into Noh’s apartment on July 20, 2014, on Saipan and broke the inner locking latch of the front door of her unit.

At a preliminary hearing in August, police detective Elias Q. Saralu testified that the victim sustained lacerations and bruises on the right side of her head, and abrasions on her left bicep and back.

Saralu said the cut on the victim’s head required six stitches, her middle finger nail almost came off, her left arm had bruises, and she had scratches on the back, as well as neck pain.

The victim told police that she was sleeping on the couch of her apartment between 5:30am to 6am when she heard a noise coming from outside the front door.

When the victim looked out from the living room window, she saw a man, later identified as Pedro, trying to open the front door of her apartment.

Pedro then asked the victim if he could use her telephone. The victim told him to go away or she would call the police. Pedro managed to break open the door, choked the victim and covered her mouth as she tried to call police. Pedro then hit the victim on the head with an object, then ran away.

The victim told police that a day before the incident, she saw Pedro roaming in the parking lot of the apartment.