6 inmates charged, flown to Guam

Six prisoners who participated in Tuesday’s 14-hour hostage drama led by William Sablan were sent to Guam yesterday after they were charged and arraigned for a federal offense.

Department of Public Safety Commissioner Charles Ingram said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms filed the charges before the US District Court.

Aside from Sablan, the other prisoners were Vicente Aldan Jr., Jeffrey Celis, Ryan Babauta, Edwin Blas and Arcel Busto. They were among the eight inmates who bolted out from the Division of Corrections last month. Ingram said they will be back on March 18 for the trial.

According to Dave Wood and Gregory Baka from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, it is considered a federal offense if individuals who were previously convicted of felony are caught in the possession of a firearm.

Sablan and his group assaulted a guard, ransacked the security locker and held police at bay with pistol shots in the first-ever prison standoff to hit Saipan. A Smith and Wesson 9-millimeter gun was taken from the locker.

Prisoners who violate the federal law are incarcerated on Guam under the custody of the U.S. Marshal, said Wood and Baka.

However, it is not certain yet on where exactly they will be imprisoned on Guam. On certain cases, prisoners who commit federal offense are placed inside the U.S. military facilities on Guam.

Before the group flew to Guam yesterday, each one was appointed with his own legal counsel from the pool of lawyers in the CNMI. Counseling can be done over the phone or the prisoner can be transported back to Saipan to discuss the case with his lawyer.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said the six inmates are simply charged and are presumed innocent until proven guilty. However, if they are convicted, they will serve their time at a prison in the mainland.

The six inmates were earlier convicted of various crimes. Sablan was convicted for several charges of assault, battery and robbery; Aldan for second degree murder; Celis for robbery, burglary and theft; Babauta for involuntary manslaughter; Blas for attempted rape; and Busto for second degree murder.

Meanwhile, Ingram said the DPS is still assessing the damage inside the detention center. “The criminal scene technicians are still processing evidence and see how it’s going to cost the taxpayers a lot of money to pay for overtime and food,” he said.