Probable cause found to try habitual offender anew

The Superior Court for the NMI has found probable cause to try a habitual offender who was arrested anew on multiple charges in relation to a recent burglary.

Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph Camacho found probable cause last Friday to try Johnny John Basiente after hearing the testimony of the government’s witness, police detective Eugene Dillay.

Based on the matters cited at the hearing, the court found probable cause to believe that Basiente committed the crimes of burglary, vandalism, three counts of assault and battery, and three counts of disturbing the peace.

Following the hearing, Basiente was remanded back to Department of Corrections custody and was ordered to return to court on March 6 for his arraignment.

According to court documents, police responded to a theft-in-progress at the GuangZhou restaurant last Jan. 30. At the scene, officers spoke with one of three victims, Qiwen Wu, who reported the incident.

Wu said that earlier that morning, she and her husband, along with her sister, were sleeping in their rooms on the third floor when they were awakened by their barking dogs.

Wu said she went to check her cameras and discovered that they had been turned off even though she claims she never turns them off.

As she was looking at the cameras, Wu’s husband went down to the second floor where he found Basiente in one of the karaoke rooms hiding inside the restroom.

When Basiente tried to flee the scene, Wu, her husband, and her sister stopped him.

However, when Wu told him to wait for the police, Basiente allegedly punched Wu in the face, pulled her sister’s hair, and pushed her husband and managed to flee the scene.

Outside the restaurant, Basiente allegedly picked up a piece of wood and tried to hit the victims with it before entering a white vehicle. The victims managed to get a photo of the car’s license plate number.

At around 9:17am that same day, Wu was interviewed by investigators, telling them that Basiente had punched her about three or four times.

Basiente was arrested last Feb. 8 and he allegedly admitted to breaking into the restaurant despite having a previous court order that directs him to stay away from the establishment.

Basiente is a habitual offender with criminal felonies dating back to 2006.