Former lawmaker pleads guilty, gets 3-day prison term

Juan Iguel Tenorio

Former lawmaker Juan Iguel Tenorio has entered a guilty plea and was slapped with a three-day prison term in connection with the charges that he beat up a male teenager in Marpi.

At a change of plea hearing on Tuesday, Tenorio, 66, pleaded guilty to the offense of assault and battery.

Superior Court Associate Judge Kenneth L. Govendo granted Tenorio’s guilty plea and the plea agreement.

Govendo sentenced the defendant to one-year imprisonment, all suspended except three days.

Tenorio was given credit for three days of time served. It means that he would no longer serve more time in prison.

Govendo placed Tenorio on supervised probation for one year and ordered him to pay restitution to the victim in the amount of $478.

Defendant’s posting of $500 cash bail was exonerated and applied to satisfy the restitution to the victim. The remaining $22 was applied toward $25 court costs, with $3 to be owed.

Tenorio was ordered to pay $100 in probation fee.

The former lawmaker was ordered to complete 60 hours of anger management counseling at his own expense. He was required to submit proof of his completion of counseling to the Office of Adult Probation.

The defendant is prohibited from having direct or indirect contact with the victim during the probationary period.

Govendo ordered Tenorio to obey all Commonwealth and federal laws as well as all of the rules of the Office of Adult Probation.

As part of the plea deal, Govendo granted the government’s motion to dismiss the remaining charge of disturbing the peace.

Assistant attorney general Shannon Foley appeared for the government. Attorney Edward Arriola served as counsel for Tenorio.

According to the factual basis of the plea deal, on April 2, 2015 on Saipan, Tenorio caused bodily harm to the victim by punching him in the face.

Foley stated in the information that Tenorio screamed profanities at the victim and punched him in the face.

Police detective Jesus K. Wabol stated in his report that a responding police officer learned that the 19-year-old male and his two female friends were followed by Tenorio from the former La Fiesta Mall area in San Roque to the parking lot of Marianas Trekking, where the assault happened.

The officer observed the victim suffering a 1-inch laceration in this nose. One female passenger of the car was crying for fear because Tenorio approached them.

The teenager told police that he was driving his car with two passengers heading to the Grotto when a white car, which was heading in the same direction, passed them out and cut in front of his vehicle at a close distance.

The female passenger got upset and flicked off Tenorio, who was the driver of the white car. The former lawmaker then followed them to the Marianas Trekking parking lot, where the alleged beating happened.