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Victim objects to closing case vs burglary suspects
Chief prosecutor says case against defendants is pending
An alleged victim of a burglary, who was choked by one of two suspects, has sought help from Attorney General Edward Manibusan and chief prosecutor Michele Harris over a prosecutor’s alleged move to “close the case easily.”
The complainant, a Korean male, wrote Manibusan and Harris last week, asking them to look into the case against Joaquin Reyes Crisostomo and Waedynne Cepeda Maratita.
Crisostomo and Maratita were arrested in February 2017 for burglary, assault, assault and battery, resisting arrest, and disturbing the peace.
Harris said Friday that the case against Crisostomo and Maratita is still pending in court.
“We represent the interest of the Commonwealth in all matters. And we have to assess all evidence to make a determination of what we can prove before we go forward on all charges,” Harris said.
According to the complainant, the two suspects burglarized his house on Saipan and took several items from him on Feb. 17, 2017. He said police officers found the stolen items in the trunk of the suspects’ car. He said one suspect even choked him.
The complainant now claims that the case’s prosecutor (not Harris) is dropping the case. He also accused the prosecutor of hiding key evidence to close the matter easily.
“This is not justice, not a righteous, appropriate way of a prosecutor,” he said, adding that he received a message last week from the prosecutor, telling him about a possibility that the case may not proceed to trial.
The complainant said the prosecutor is perhaps overwhelmed by the strategy and tactics of the defense lawyer.
According to a police report, Crisostomo and Maratita broke into a house on Capital Hill after the couple left the residence, leaving their minor daughter behind.
The girl was shocked and frightened upon seeing a woman, later identified as Maratita, holding a metal object and telling her not to move.
When Maratita left the house, the girl grabbed a knife from the kitchen and called her parents. The girl’s father immediately went back and saw the suspects’ car. The father blocked the car with his vehicle. The father struggled with Crisostomo. Police officers arrived and secured Crisostomo.
