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Wiseman dismisses theft case vs Guajardo
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Posted on Mar 14 2006
The Superior Court dismissed yesterday the case against former CNMI K-9 Program manager and Customs officer Freddie Guajardo, who was charged with stealing government money.
Associate Judge David A. Wiseman dismissed the case without finality after the Attorney General’s Office moved to drop the matter.
Assistant attorney general Nancy Knox-Bierman requested the court to dismiss the case on grounds that there was no evidence indicating the intent, which is a required element of the charges.
Attorney Robert Torres, counsel for Guajardo, told the Saipan Tribune that they appreciate the government’s objectivity and fairness in reviewing the evidence.
“Justice was done and Mr. Guajardo looks forward to reuniting with his family and putting this whole episode behind him,” Torres said.
Then Chief Prosecutor Jeffrey Moots filed the information, charging the defendant with theft of services, theft by unlawful disposition, and misconduct in publice office.
The AGO alleged in the complaint that on Oct. 31, 2005 and Dec. 22, 2005, while employed as the chief instructor at the Pacific Region Detector Dog Training Center, Guajardo placed his own six dogs into the training center. The AGO said the defendant instructed his subordinates to train these six dogs at the expense of the government.
The training of the defendant’s dogs cost the government in excess of $5,200, the prosecution said.
The government alleged that on Nov. 15, 2005, the defendant “unlawfully exercised control over two detector dogs belonging to the CNMI by selling the dogs to the Republic of Palau for $5,000.”
The AGO said Guajardo had the Palau remit the payment for the dogs to the defendant’s personally owned company, BC Kennels.
The defendant denied the charges.
