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Bench warrant vs alleged ‘ice’ trafficker increased to $25,000
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Posted on Mar 10 2012
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
Reporter
Superior Court associate judge Joseph N. Camacho increased yesterday the bench warrant for a suspected “ice” trafficker who could not be located from $2,000 to $25,000.
Camacho directed law enforcement agencies to immediately arrest Lian Jun Li for failing to appear at a status conference that was intended to determine if his jury trial will go forward. Camacho also vacated Li’s pre-trial conditions of release and the scheduled April 19, 2012, jury trial.
Assistant attorney general Nicole Driscoll and assistant public defender Daniel Guidotti told the court yesterday that they could not find Li and his third-party custodian after a weeklong search.
On Thursday, March 1, Camacho issued a $2,000 bench warrant for Li for failing to appear at a change of plea hearing.
Driscoll said that Li has been charged with a series of trafficking and possession crimes resulting from three separate controlled buys in November 2011.
“While serious, this was [Li’s] first arrest in the CNMI, and the total amount of the crystal methamphetamine at issue, 2.3 gross grams, was fairly low,” Driscoll said.
The prosecutor said the negotiated plea agreement is consistent with other agreements accepted by the court for similar first time drug trafficking offenses,” she said.
The Office of the Attorney General had charged the 48-year-old Li with three counts of trafficking of controlled substance, and three counts of illegal possession of controlled substance.
