Remaining charges vs ex-DPS chief dismissed

James C. Deleon Guerrero

Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho yesterday issued separate orders, dismissing without prejudice the remaining charges against former Department of Public Safety commissioner James C. Deleon Guerrero and former police officer Jesse S. Concepcion.

Dismissal without prejudice means the Office of the Attorney General may re-file the charges.

In his order, Camacho said he finds no probable cause as to the charge of conspiracy to commit sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree as the government has produced no evidence that Deleon Guerrero and Concepcion conspired to specifically have sexual contact with a minor.

In his separate order, Camacho said he finds no probable cause as to two counts of misconduct in public office each charged against the defendants as the government has presented no evidence that the alleged offense occurred under color of office.

“So that guilt shall not escape or innocence suffer, the court encourages the Office of the Attorney General to carefully review a case before filing any criminal charges to make sure all the elements of a crime can be proven with facts and evidence,” he said in the orders.

Last May 27, Camacho also dismissed without prejudice the charge of sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree filed each against the defendants. The judge said he finds no probable cause as to the charge as the government failed to prove essential element of the offense.

Camacho conducted the preliminary hearing last April 22 and May 9. Assistant attorneys general Matthew Baisley and Shannon Foley appeared for the government. Attorneys Matthew Holley and Richard Pierce served as counsel for Deleon Guerrero and Concepcion, respectively.

In his order yesterday with respect to the charge of conspiracy to commit sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree, Camacho said the Commonwealth has failed to produce any evidence that the defendants specifically conspired to have sex with a minor.

Camacho said even in the light most favorable to the government, the testimony presented shows only that there was an agreement to have sexual contact with a female.

The judge said the government presented no testimony or evidence that the defendants had agreed to have sex specifically with a minor, which would be required if the defendants had agreed to commit sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree.

Camacho said the government’s witnesses’ testimony indicated that Deleon Guerrero and Concepcion were surprised to discover the alleged victim was a minor.

Further, Camacho said, there was no testimony indicating that the alleged victim told either defendant that she was a minor.

“Although the Commonwealth presented evidence that there had been an agreement to have sexual contact with a female, no evidence was presented that the defendants specifically agreed to have sex with a minor, which is required to show that the defendants had agreed to commit sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree,” he said.

Camacho noted that the government did not charge any prostitution-related offenses, nor did the Commonwealth charge conspiracy to commit any prostitution-related offenses.

In his order with respect to the charges of misconduct in public office, Camacho said the government has not presented evidence that the alleged sexual abuse occurred under color of Deleon Guerrero or Concepcion’s office.

The judge said witnesses testified that the incidents occurred in the back of a T-100 pickup truck and the government did not present evidence showing that the truck was a DPS vehicle.

Rather, Camacho said, the testimony presented at the preliminary hearing showed that Concepcion owned a silver T-100 pickup truck, and that DPS owned a black T-100 pickup truck.

Camacho said there was no testimony that the DPS vehicle was the vehicle used during the incidents.

“There was no testimony as to the make, model, color, or license plate number of a specific Department of Public Safety vehicle, nor was there any testimony about logbooks indicating use of the vehicle, gas mileage, or days of use,” he said.

Further, Camacho said, there was no evidence that Deleon Guerrero and Concepcion presented any symbols of their offices during the alleged incident, including their badges, identification cards, guns, police lights, police sirens, police report forms, or government vehicle stickers.

According to the information filed by assistant attorney general Shannon R. Foley, in June 2013 on Saipan, Deleon Guerrero, then the commissioner of DPS, twice engaged in sexual penetration with a minor child at the San Antonio beach site.

Foley said that in June 2013, Deleon Guerrero and Concepcion arranged a meeting place, meeting times, and coordinated with other persons to lure the minor child to a San Antonio beach site, where they engaged in sexual penetration of that child.

Foley said that in June 2013, Concepcion, then a DPS officer, engaged in sexual penetration with a minor child at the San Antonio beach site on numerous occasions.

The prosecutor said Deleon Guerrero and Concepcion, being public officials, performed illegal acts under the color of their office.

The defendants pleaded not guilty.