Man arrested in theft of FEMA genset’s battery

A battery from a Federal Emergency Management Agency generator that was powering the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.’s water pump station in Chalan Kanoa was stolen and 18-year-old Patrick Nick H. Muña was tagged as the suspect behind the crime.

Muña, who was being hunted by police since last week for theft, surrendered to the Department of Public Safety on Monday morning.

At his initial appearance in court yesterday, Superior Court Associate Judge Teresa Kim-Tenorio increased Muña’s bail from $1,250 to $5,000 cash, citing Muna’s prior criminal history as a juvenile as well as the fact that Saipan is still suffering in the wake of Typhoon Soudelor, which caused massive destruction to the island.

Assistant attorney general Heather Barcinas said that that FEMA generator was generating water for Chalan Kanoa and its environs.

Preliminary hearing will be on Oct. 8 at 9am. Assistant public defender Tillman Clark was appointed as counsel for Muna.

Police said an officer was dispatched last Sept. 10 at 2:08pm to a reported theft of a FEMA generator’s battery at the CUC water pump station along Tun Sedugo Street near the U.S. Post Office.

FEMA generator operator Michael Kallberg told police that the stolen item was a red and black Optima battery, about the same size as a car battery.

As Commonwealth Bureau of Investigation commander Jeffrey Olopai and other detectives were interviewing people in the neighborhood, an anonymous tipster advised police detective Catherine B. Pangelinan to check on Muña.

Pangelinan alerted the rest of CBI detectives to be on the lookout for Muña, who lives just three houses away from the generator’s location.

As the detectives were leaving, Pangelinan spotted Muña walking north, about 100 feet from the crime scene. Pangelinan parked her vehicle next to Muña and asked if she could interview him about the FEMA generator.

Muña immediately took off. Olopai gave chase while Pangelinan alerted other officers and detectives. Police detective Daniel Joab later found Muña hiding under a clump of vines at 2:45pm.

Pangelinan said that Muña immediately said he wants to cooperate with police and admitted stealing the battery at 12am last Sept. 10.

Follow-up investigation led to the recovery of the battery on Sept. 11. Kallberg positively identified the battery as the one placed on the generator in Chalan Kanoa. The battery was subsequently returned to FEMA.

Because of the incident, FEMA removed the generator from Chalan Kanoa.

With his arrest, Muña joins in jail his older brother, Roland Hernandez Muña, a 26-year-old notorious burglar who was slapped with a 20-year prison sentence last month for burglarizing eight vehicles in San Vicente and violating his probation.