Ex-convict gets 57 mos. in prison for possession of guns, bullets

U. S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona has imposed a 57-month prison term on Jesus S. Palacios, an ex-convict in Guam who was found guilty of illegal possession of two guns and 27 bullets.

At a hearing on Tuesday, Manglona gave Palacios credit for 277 days of time served.

Upon completing the prison sentence, Palacios will be placed on five years of supervised release. He was required to perform 100 hours of community service.

Palacios was prohibited from possessing a firearm, ammunition, or other dangerous weapons. He was ordered to participate in a substance abuse program.

Assistant U.S. attorney Rami Badawy recommended a 57-month prison term pursuant to the advisory sentencing guideline range.

Attorney Mark Scoggins, counsel for Palacios, recommended 46 months in prison.

Last Dec. 4, 2013, a jury returned a guilty verdict against the 52-year-old Palacios on all six counts.

Months later, in February, Judge Manglona granted a motion to vacate the convictions on five of the six charges.

Manglona vacated Palacios’ convictions on two counts of felon in possession of a firearm and/or ammunition, and three counts of unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm and/or ammunition.

Manglona issued the order after Palacios, through counsel Scoggins, moved to vacate his convictions on the five charges of the indictment on double-jeopardy grounds, as multiplicitous of his conviction on one charge.

Manglona said the six counts charge the defendant with a single instance of unlawful firearms and ammunition possession under two different sections of the law.

The judge said Palacios asserts, and the U.S. government agrees, that under these circumstances only one conviction may enter.

The filing of the indictment arose from an incident in April 2013 when police arrested Palacios for allegedly beating up his wife in front of their child and pointing a gun at her head when she refused to give him money.

The then 4-year-old boy told police that he witnessed the beating of his mother and that he also saw his father smoke “ice” and has four guns.

Police learned that Palacios was arrested in Guam in 1997 and charged with murder, manslaughter, and possession of a gun without an ID. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter.