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Judge rejects plea deal
Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho has rejected a plea agreement that recommends no prison term and the erasure of the criminal conviction of a 20-year-old man accused of stealing a pit bull puppy.
At the hearing on Wednesday, Camacho said the plea agreement entered by the parties in the case against David A. Santos Jr. is rejected because it included expungement of a criminal conviction and “is not in the best interest of the public.”
Assistant public defender Cindy Nesbit, counsel for Santos, argued that Santos was only 19 when the alleged crimes occurred.
Assistant attorney general Jonathan Robert Glass Jr., counsel for the government, argued that the Department of Corrections should not spend money on Santos.
Camacho found the parties’ arguments unpersuasive.
Camacho also asked the parties if there are reasons that serve the public’s interest such as if Santos cooperated and gave information that led to the arrest and conviction of other criminals.
Camacho set the bench trial for March 27, 2017, at 9am.
Under the proposed plea agreement, Santos would plead guilty to theft.
The government agreed to recommend expungement of his conviction. The government also agreed to recommend, among other terms, a one-year imprisonment, all suspended.
According to the charging documents, Santos stole a pit bull puppy from its owner’s home on Saipan on Aug. 5, 2016.
