Cop seeks dismissal of 4 charges

Police officer Dixon Kwon believes he has been exposed to double jeopardy implications by the Office of the Attorney General’s filing of four out of seven traffic charges against him.

Double jeopardy, which means punishing an individual twice for one offense, is prohibited under the U.S. and CNMI constitutions.

Kwon, through counsel Charity R. Hodson, is asking the Superior Court to dismiss the four charges that he argues are “multiplicitous.”

The four charges are driving while under the influence of alcohol with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or more, driving while under the influence of alcohol, and two counts of fleeing the scene of an accident.

The three other charges filed against Kwon are reckless driving causing bodily injury, failure to have a car insurance while driving on a public highway, and failure to have car insurance at hand while driving on a public highway.

Hodson asserted that the court should dismiss the four charges on the grounds that the imposition of two “fleeing the scene” charges, and a charge of “driving while under the influence of alcohol with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or more” and “driving while under the influence of alcohol” are “multiplicitous” and violate constitutional prohibitions on double jeopardy.

Hodson said the government has charged Kwon with two violations of the same statute, 9 CMC Section 6101, alleging that he violated this statute by failing to stop at the scene of the accident, and, further, by failing to render reasonable assistance to an injured person.

The defense counsel said the government has similarly charged Kwon with driving under the influence with a BAC of 0.08 percent or more and with driving under the influence of the alcohol.

She pointed out that there is no indication in the statute that the Legislature intended to impose multiple felony penalties for the same offense of failing to stop.

Hodson said that, in count four, Kwon is alleged to have failed to stop at the scene of the accident when he drove his vehicle into a tree, injuring his passenger, Deedra Santos.

Hodson said that, in count five, Kwon is alleged to have failed to provide reasonable assistance to an injured person, when he drove his vehicle into a tree causing injury to Santos and failed to provide reasonable medical assistance.

The lawyer said the two charges arise from the single event of Kwon driving his vehicle into the tree and leaving the scene.

She said Kwon allegedly fled the scene, leaving behind an injured person; at the same time, he also allegedly failed to render reasonable assistance by fleeing the scene.

“There is a clear unitary relationship between these two charges, arising from a single, ongoing event,” Hodson said.

Hodson said the Legislature did not intend to impose multiple sanctions for the single offense of driving under the influence of alcohol.

The lawyer said in order to ensure Kwon’s constitutional right to be free from the threat of multiple criminal punishments, the court should dismiss the “multiplicitous” charges.

The bench trial of Kwon will be on July 30, 2018, before Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho.

Kwon has filed a separate motion to compel the government to disclose all documents within its possession or control that he had asked for.

In that motion, Hodson disclosed that documents related to the Department of Public Safety’s internal affairs investigation into the case of Kwon are allegedly missing.

Police said that Kwon was driving his Nissan car on July 22, 2017, when the vehicle ran off the road on As Gonno Highway and hit a tree, causing serious injuries to Santos near the Coral Ocean Point Golf Resort. When the officers responded at the scene, Kwon was not at the scene, but the injured Santos was there.

Kwon was an off-duty DUI officer for DPS at the time of the accident. He is currently assigned with the DPS Criminal Investigation Bureau.