Court sends Saipan man back to jail for violating probation

A Saipan man convicted on drug charges over four years ago in the U.S. District Court was sentenced yesterday to nine months in jail for violating condition of his probation by slipping back to his old habit of using crystal methamphetamine or “ice.”

Vicente Aldan Guerrero was also ordered by District Judge Alex R. Munson to undergo drug treatment program while in prison and to continue to be under supervised release for 39 months immediately after serving out his term.

In his ruling, the judge said Mr. Guerrero is still in a state of “denial” as he has yet to kick off his drug addiction despite prior treatment in a medical facility in Hawaii.

“I have a tendency to believe that he’s trying to make efforts and he’s just caught in a situation where he’s taking drugs again, slipping back,” said Judge Munson in handing down his decision.

Mr. Guerrero entered a guilty plea in May 1996 on drug charges and spent 30 months in jail, after which he was placed under supervised release.

According to Assistant District Attorney David T. Wood, he had violated conditions of the probation on two occasions, but it is only now that the court revoked the terms of his release.

Assistant U.S. probation officer Kenneth Aguilar testified at yesterday’s hearing that the sweat patch worn by Mr. Guerrero that’s being used to monitor whether he’s using drugs fell off in numerous instances.

But Mr. Guerrero told the court the patch slid because he went on fishing and when he was taking shower. He said he immediately reported the matter to the probation office which then performed urine test to determine whether he was using drugs.

He also claimed he has been sober since returning from Honolulu last July and is looking forward to spending the rest of his life with a newfound companion.

He said he had asked forgiveness from those he wronged and that he’s “very happy” with his present life.

His lawyer Bruce Berline argued 15 urinalysis conducted on his client proved negative on drug use. He asked the court to give him another chance and mete out punishment of only home confinement.

Judge Munson, however, objected to the defense’s argument that the sweat patch is unreliable, noting they don’t have the chemistry know-how to back up their claim.

He said the defendant does not understand how chemistry affects the testing device, adding evidence pointed to the fact that he has slipped back to using drugs.

“He should have been more truthful,” explained Judge Munson. “He can’t just go to court and make up nonsense story.”(BS)