Security guard, woman arrested for attempted murder of cabbie

A security guard and a woman were arrested on Tuesday for attempted murder and other charges for allegedly stabbing a taxi driver during a robbery on Saipan.

The taxi driver, a male, sustained 11 lacerations and avoided further attack by playing dead. He was taken to the Commonwealth Healthcare Center, police said.

Carlos Aldan Ramangmau, 26, and Felisha Ann Basa, 32, were arrested for attempted murder, aggravated assault and battery, robbery, and kidnapping.

According to acting chief prosecutor Barbara Cepeda, kidnapping carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, while the remaining charges carry a total maximum sentence of 50 years.

Cepeda said the defendants pose danger to the community and both have prior criminal cases. She said investigators also had a surveillance camera’s footage on the defendants when the victim picked them up.

Ramangmau was served with an an arrest warrant on Tuesday at 9:45pm in Garapan, while Basa was served with an arrest warrant at 4:45pm in central Garapan.

At a hearing yesterday, Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho maintained the $100,000 cash bail each for the defendants.

Preliminary hearing will be on Sept. 13 at 1:30pm. Arraignment will be on Sept. 26 at 9am.

Assistant public defender Cindy Nesbit was appointed as counsel for Ramangmau. A private counsel will be appointed for Basa.

Police Detective Myron O. Laniyo stated in his report that a police detective responded to CHC last Aug. 27 at 10:50pm after receiving a call from the Department of Public Safety Central about a stabbing and robbery case.

Laniyo said the detective saw the victim being attended by a doctor due to multiple lacerations on the face.

A physician assistant informed the detective that the victim sustained 11 lacerations, all about an inch or less in length, caused by a sharp object.

The injuries were one on the right thumb, two on the right index finger, four on the right facial area and scalp, two on the right earlobe, one behind right ear, and one behind right thumb.

In an interview with another police detective, the victim stated that he was in San Jose when the leader of their taxi group holding the hotline number dispatched him to Toha Market in San Antonio to pick up a female customer.

When the victim got to Toha Market, a man and a woman entered his taxi and told him to drive to Dandan.

The victim said upon reaching Jin Ling Store in Dandan, he was told to head north, then to other areas until he was directed to stop at an intersection.

The woman, who was later identified as Basa and seated on the front passenger seat, handed money to the cabbie for payment of the ride.

The cabbie turned on the interior lights of the car to check the money. The man, who was later identified as Ramangmau who was seated behind Basa, suddenly poked the victim with a sharp object on the neck.

Basa allegedly grabbed the victim’s cellphone. Ramangmau then grabbed the victim’s head and continuously poked him on the right side of the face with the sharp object.

Ramangmau continued the stabbing and only stopped when the victim played dead. Basa got down and opened the driver’s door and unbuckled the victim’s seatbelt.

Basa grabbed the victim’s legs and pushed them to the passenger seat. Ramangmau pulled half the victim’s body to the center console.

Basa then drove the vehicle and stopped after a couple of minutes. The two suspects then searched around inside the taxi and left.

The victim drove the vehicle toward a friend’s house in Susupe, where he asked for help. He was then taken to CHC.

The victim said the suspects stole $300 cash and his cellphone worth $500.

Laniyo said operatives from DPS Criminal Investigation Bureau recovered from a store’s surveillance camera’s footage that caught Ramangmau and Basa walking to Toha Market on the night of Aug. 27 coming from the southern side.

Operatives observed as Basa got into Toha Market and used the telephone at the same time that the victim was dispatched to that store to pick up customers.

Ramangmau was observed waiting outside in the parking lot of the store. Laniyo said the victim positively identified Ramangmau and Basa on the photo lineup as the persons that he picked up and attacked him.