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Man in drug case pleads guilty
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Posted on Apr 17 2000
Another Filipino facing drug charges in the U.S. District Court admitted guilt on Friday to evade stiffer penalties after he was caught in possession of methampetamine hydrochloride, popularly known as “ice.”
Jaime F. Maniquiz entered into a plea agreement with the federal prosecutors on charges of conspiracy to import the illicit drugs and possession with intent to distribute.
Judge Alex R. Munson accepted the plea and set his sentencing on July 25, the same day his co-accused Eduardo V. Cruz will also face the court for his sentence after pleading guilty last Thursday on the same charges.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Wood said the prosecution has recommended a five-year imprisonment for Mr. Maniquiz, much lower than the 12 years in jail that the charges usually carry if convicted.
Mr. Cruz, on the other hand, could face up to three years in jail as recommended by the federal government under his own plea agreement. He has identified Mr. Maniquiz as the one who gave him the “ice” for distribution in the CNMI.
Both originally pled innocence during their arraignment last February. Mr. Cruz is out on a bail of $25,000 unsecured bond, while Judge Munson did not set a bail for Mr. Maniquiz since he is currently in the custody of the Division of Corrections facing a separate criminal case before the Superior Court.
The charges against the two were supported by an affidavit from Raymond M. Renguul, a member of the Drug Enforcement Agency/CNMI Task Force for almost three years.
According to court documents, Mr. Maniquiz and other conspirators smuggled “ice” into the Commonwealth from the Philippines between October 1999 and February 2000. Also during that period, he and Mr. Cruz conspired to sell and distribute the illicit drugs on the island.
