Son of CUC board chair arrested anew

The son of Commonwealth Utilities Corp. board chair Frank Guerrero was arrested again on Tuesday night for alleged involvement in other burglary cases on Saipan.

John Richard P. Guerrero, 29, was detained on charges of burglary, theft, criminal trespass, and theft by unlawful taking or disposition.

During yesterday’s bail hearing, Superior Court Associate Judge David A. Wiseman allowed the defendant to post $50,000 in property bond and set many conditions for his temporary liberty.

“You should be grateful for your parents’ support,” the defendant was told by Wiseman, who spotted the CUC board chair sitting behind the prosecution’s table.

The judge set the arraignment for Feb. 27. Attorney Brien Sers Nicholas served as counsel for the defendant.

Detective George Fleming David stated in his report filed in court that John Richard Guerrero was involved in the burglary and theft incidents that victimized Pure Water Co. in Chalan Laulau, Truong’s Restaurant in Susupe, and at the Horizontal Corp. in San Jose.

David said that, on Nov. 25, 2005 at 5:14am, a caller informed the Department of Public Safety that Pure Water Co. had been burglarized. Investigation showed that $1,500 in cash, food stamps, and checks were stolen from the desk table and desk drawer of the water company’s office.

On Dec. 11, 2005, at 9:53am, a caller reported to DPS that Truong’s Restaurant had been burglarized. Police learned that a credit card machine and a desktop computer were stolen from the establishment.

David said that, on Jan. 10, 2006, he learned that the defendant had offered to sell a flat screen computer to another person a week before Christmas.

The following day, David said he checked Truong’s Restaurant where an employee identified the computer as the company’s stolen unit.

The detective said that, on Dec. 18, 2005, at 4:54pm, Horizontal Corp. (HBR International) was also burglarized and stolen were several business accounting records, Christmas gifts, and four business Motorola cell phones.

David said a defendant in another criminal case had stated that John Richard Guerrero and Sharee Demapan Maratita gave him a Motorola cell phone when the two visited him at his house.

Upon further investigation, it turned out that the cell phone was among the four stolen from Horizontal Corp., David said.

John Richard Guerrero was arrested during a reported break-in at MidPac Micronesia Building in Gualo Rai on Dec. 30, 2005 between 3am to 4am. He was then released on bail.

Police served an arrest warrant on the 29-year-old Maratita on Jan. 4, 2006 for alleged conspiracy in the Mid-Pac burglary. But the Attorney General’s Office never filed an information against her.

On Jan. 23, 2006, Presiding Judge Robert C. Naraja dismissed the charges against Maratita after then Chief Prosecutor Jeffrey Moots moved to drop the complaint.

Maratita is the daughter of Marianas Public Lands Authority board chairwoman Ana Demapan-Castro. Maratita watched the proceedings in court yesterday.