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One of two men charged with taking endangered sea turtle pleads guilty
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Posted on Oct 05 2020
One of two men facing charges in the U.S. District Court for the NMI for allegedly illegally trying to take a green sea turtle has pleaded guilty.
Russel Rekemel Solomon was sentenced last week to 24-month probation after pleading guilty to taking an endangered sea turtle.
District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona ordered Solomon to pay immediately a $25 special assessment fee.
Solomon was also ordered to pay $1,000 within 24 months.
Solomon and his co-defendant in the case were charged with conspiracy to unlawfully take an endangered species.
According to Saipan Tribune archives, Solomon and co-defendant Jose Machutaro Ichiro Sablan dragged the green sea turtle by a rope tied around its shell across Tank Beach in Kagman on June 7, 2020.
The charge included a notice of forfeiture to the U.S. government of the materials used for taking or selling of the endangered species. The notice listed two cell phones.
Both defendants appeared before Manglona last Aug. 21 and initially pleaded not guilty. Manglona then set the jury trial for Oct. 27, 2020 at 10am. The judge ordered Solomon and Sablan to be released on their own recognizance with certain conditions.
David Banes was appointed to represent Solomon, while Sablan is represented by Steven Pixley. Assistant U.S. attorney Garth Backe represented the federal government.
