One of two suspects in crystal meth case pleads guilty

One of two individuals facing charges of illegal possession of methamphetamine, or “ice” has pleaded guilty to the charge against him.

Morell Bayani Esteves, 47, pleaded guilty Thursday before Superior Court Associate Judge Kenneth Govendo to one count of illegal possession of a controlled substance.

Govendo sentenced Esteves to an imprisonment term of three years, all suspended except for nine months, with credit for the 113 days he had already served.

According to Govendo, Esteves will serve the sentence day for day without the possibility of parole, early release, weekend release or other similar programs.

After serving his sentence, he will be placed on supervised probation for three years, pay a fine of $500, and perform 60 hours of community work service.

In addition, the Community Guidance Center will evaluate the defendant within 30 days for any course of treatment focused on drug and alcohol treatment and mental health evaluation.

If after evaluation CGC recommends counselling, the defendant must complete all recommended counselling and treatment, Govendo said.

Esteves is set to be released from Department of Corrections custody on on Sept. 23, 2023, at 8am

The case against Esteves’ co-defendant, Kemmy Encha Qiu, 38, is still pending with the Superior Court.

According to court documents, a patrol police officer traveling south on Texas Road, Susupe on the afternoon of Nov. 2, 2022, saw a maroon sedan traveling north with its window rolled halfway. Police noted that the female driver, later identified as Qui, was not wearing a seatbelt, prompting the officers to make a U-turn in pursuit of the sedan to conduct a violator stop.

Upon approaching the vehicle, the police officer saw Qui with a male, later identified as Esteves, seated in the front passenger seat. The officer told the driver why she was pulled over, and asked her to present her driver’s license, vehicle registration, and insurance documents.

As the police officer was speaking to Qui, he said he noticed a small, clear Ziploc bag on the driver side that contained a cut straw and a crystalline substance inside it. When police asked about the contents of the Ziploc bag, Qiu said, “asiga,” which is the Chamorro word for salt and denied that it belonged to her. The substance later tested positive for methamphetamine through a field narcotics identification kit.

At the booking section of the Department of Corrections, Esteves was searched by Corrections officers who found two clear Ziploc bags containing a crystalline substance hidden in his cellphone case. The contents also tested positive for methamphetamine.