Third man in carjacking case gets 8 years

The last of the three Saipan residents who pled guilty to charges of carjacking and robbery was sentenced by the federal court yesterday to eight years and six months imprisonment.

Jeronimo Sablan Ada, 22, received a similar sentence handed down to co-accused Melvin N. Basa last week. The other man convicted of the crime that occurred in July 1999, Jeffrey S. Basa, was sent to 11 years in jail last month for the same charges and one count of a felon in possession of a firearm.

Mr. Ada, who was one of the three detainees that bolted out of the Susupe prison last October, will also be under supervised release for five years after serving out his jail sentence, while he will have to serve 300 hours of community work.

Federal Court Judge Alex R. Munson likewise ordered him and the two others to share payment of restitution fines amounting to $7,439 to their three victims and to the Commonwealth Health Center.

The sentence also indicated that Mr. Ada must participate in a drug and mental health treatment program while in prison as well as earn a high school diploma or its equivalent.

Based on court documents, Jeffrey Basa admitted his guilt on the three charges, while the two accepted responsibility only for committing the crimes of carjacking and affecting commerce by robbery.

Investigation showed that on July 11, 1999, Wu Guo Quing left his pickup with the engine running at the ABCD market in Koblerville. The victim, who came from the laundry beside the market, saw his 1992 Mazda vehicle being driven away by a group of men.

Instantly, Mr. Wu jumped onto the backup of his pickup. About 200 yards after, the pickup stopped and another vehicle pulled from behind. Within minutes, the men on board these two vehicles started beating up Mr. Wu. The victim said he was hit with a hard object on the head.

Still not satisfied, they took his pickup, followed by friends in the other vehicle, proceeded to Jia Jia store in Chalan Piao where they robbed Fleming Horumi Ueda and Jia Jia Jeng Ueda.

They also destroyed some of the properties of the couple, stabbed Mr. Ueda and fled with $500.

Because of the injuries sustained by the victims, Judge Munson ordered the three accused to pay $4,088 for Mr. Wu, $1,483 to the Ueda couple and $1,868 to CHC representing hospital bills.

Based on the sentencing guidelines, the two charges of carjacking and robbery carry penalty of between 135 to 168 months in jail, five years of supervised release and fines of up to $150,000.