Man in car chase with the police pleads guilty to ‘ice’ possession

A man who engaged police officers in a car chase and threw a small bag containing methamphetamine or “ice” on a road in Susupe has pleaded guilty and was slapped with a one-year prison sentence.

John Deleon Guerrero pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a controlled substance as part of a plea deal.

In an order on Monday, Superior Court Associate Judge David A. Wiseman sentenced Deleon Guerrero to three years imprisonment, all suspended except for one year, with credit for 28 days of time served. He will start serving his sentence tomorrow, Friday, and is expected to be released on April 10, 2016.

Upon release, Deleon Guerrero will be placed on supervised probation for two years. He was ordered to pay a $2,000 fine, $25 in court assessment fee, plus probation fees.

The remaining charge of eluding a police officer was dropped as part of the deal.

Wiseman also quashed a bench warrant in a traffic case issued against Deleon Guerrero.

According to the police, Deleon Guerrero’s companion, Daniel Buniag, had just been arrested on Jan. 15, 2015, on Saipan, for alleged possession of a stolen iPhone near the Subway restaurant in Chalan Kiya. Deleon Guerrero fled aboard his vehicle and eluded police officers by engaging them in a car chase.

A patrol officer spotted the car being driven by Deleon Guerrero by Chalan Kanoa District Social Hall and activated his emergency light and siren, but the vehicle refused to stop.

Several other patrol cars chased the car inside Chalan Kanoa toward Susupe.

A police officer saw that an item was thrown out of the car in Susupe. A detective retrieved the thrown item—a small bag containing “ice.” Patrol and traffic officers finally blocked the car south of Joeten Shopping Center in Susupe.

The driver of the car was identified as Deleon Guerrero, also known as Juan Masi.

Deleon Guerrero allegedly confessed that the “ice” containing in the small bag was his and that he threw it during the chase.

He said he did not stop during the chase because his “adrenaline kicked in.”

At a change of plea hearing last week, April 29, Deleon Guerrero’s father, former Commonwealth Utilities Corp. board chair Francisco Q. Deleon Guerrero, was also in the same courtroom for a hearing regarding his motion to reduce his sentence.

Francisco Deleon Guerrero’s motion for a reduction of his sentence was denied. He is serving a six-year prison term for sexually abusing a female minor. (Ferdie de la Torre)