Ex-CUC board member claims traffic stop on him ‘ illegal’

Former Commonwealth Utilities Corp. board member Eric Henry Cruz San Nicolas insists that his arrest in the early morning hours of July 28 for alleged traffic violations—including driving under the influence—arose from a police officer’s illegal traffic stop.

San Nicolas, through assistant public defender Jean Pierre Nogues, cited the 4th Amendment and 14th Amendment of the U.S. and CNMI Constitutions to ask the Superior Court to suppress all evidence arising from the traffic stop in Koblerville.

Alternatively, San Nicolas asked the court to hold a pre-trial evidentiary hearing on the illegal stop issue.

Police officer Rudolpho Hermosilla Jr. had cited San Nicolas for driving while under the influence and refusal to submit to a breath test.

In San Nicolas’ motion to suppress filed last week, Nogues said that, according to a report by Hermosilla himself, Stephanie Borja told DPS on July 28 at 1:30am that her cell phone and car keys have been stolen by her boyfriend, San Nicolas.

Nogues said Borja also alleged that San Nicolas was drunk at the time, gave a license plate for her car, and indicated she lives along Tinaktak Drive in Koblerville.

Nogues said that, according to Hermosilla, he was parked on or near Tinaktak Drive at 3:24am that same day when he saw the vehicle that Borja had reported.

Nogues said the vehicle was moving on Tinaktak Drive.

Nogues said the officer made a violation stop of the vehicle. It appears, the lawyer said, that the sole basis for the “violation stop” was Borja’s allegations made two hours earlier that San Nicolas had “stolen” her car keys and “was intoxicated.”

After San Nicolas was stopped, he was then arrested for DUI.

Nogues said the 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution grants “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.” The defense counsel said the CNMI has incorporated these same rights against through Article I, Section 3 of the CNMI Constitution.

Nogues said the officer cited San Nicolas only for traffic violations and not for theft., nor did the officer’s report indicate seeing San Nicolas drunk or driving recklessly.

“The sole basis for the stop appears to be the accusations allegedly made by Stephanie Borja two hours earlier,” Nogues said.

He said a hearsay allegation that a person was drunk is not a basis to pull over a vehicle.

San Nicolas’ bench trial was set for Thursday last week. He, however, asserted that given the filing of his motions to suppress and to compel, he anticipates that the court will decide to conduct Thursday’s appearance as a conference or argument upon a question of law rather than bench trial.

San Nicolas requested to waive his presence at last Thursday’s hearing.

San Nicolas said that he has been offered a job as the crisis counseling team leader for the Tinian Health Center, to start immediately. San Nicolas said he was instructed to report to work on the morning of last Wednesday for two days of job training.

In order to attend the full job training, San Nicolas said he would be unable to travel to Saipan to attend last Thursday’s hearing.

Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho allowed him not to attend Thursday’s hearing.

Despite his traffic case, San Nicolas ran as an independent candidate for the Tinian Senate seat last Nov. 13. He did not win.

Asked for comments about his arrest for DUI when he filed his candidacy last July 28, San Nicolas said he is innocent until proven guilty, stressing that he will fight the DUI citation in court because he was not under the influence.

On the theft call, he said the woman who filed the complaint informed the Department of Public Safety that she has no intention of filing anything.

San Nicolas said DPS, however, informed the woman that no matter what she says, if she does not want to, they will file the complaint.