Bench warrant out for Saluta

Superior Court Presiding Judge Robert C. Naraja issued a bench warrant for the arrest of a defendant for failing to appear at his scheduled sentencing yesterday morning as he was apparently taken by Immigration agents to Guam.

Naraja issued the bench warrant against Noel S. Saluta after his lawyer, assistant public defender Douglas Hartig, and the prosecution appeared in court for the scheduled sentencing.

Hartig told Saipan Tribune that he also heard that Saluta was taken by Immigration agents to Guam and that Naraja is aware of the situation. Hartig said he is now working on their next possible legal steps.

A family member of Saluta told Saipan Tribune over the weekend that Immigration agents brought the defendant to Guam and that they are not aware of the reason.

Saipan Tribune tried to get comments from chief prosecutor Michael Ernest, but he was in a meeting. As of press time, he had yet to reply to an email inquiry.

On May 5, a Superior Court jury found Saluta guilty of assault with a dangerous weapon for chasing a man with a knife. Naraja, who decided on the misdemeanor offense, found Saluta guilty of disturbing the peace. Saluta was supposed to be sentenced yesterday, Aug. 16, 2011.

Police said that Saluta assaulted Alejandro Orellano with a knife outside a poker arcade in Finasisu on April 19, 2009. Saluta denied having a knife; he said he had a silver lighter.

Saluta attracted media attention after he and his wife brought their five children—then ages 7, 6, 4, 2, and a 6-month-old infant—to the Susupe Beach Park stage on Aug. 24, 2010, after their six-month housing aid program benefits expired. The couple are both jobless.

On Sept. 22, 2010, Saluta surrendered at the Department of Public Safety after learning that police have been looking for him in connection with the April 2009 assault case in Finasisu.

On Oct. 5, 2010, U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents brought Saluta to their office for investigation of his immigration status. Later that day, ICE released him. A removal case was subsequently filed him.

Attorney Robert H. Myers Jr. earlier told Saipan Tribune that Saluta has a legal status to remain in the CNMI as he has a pending labor case and was awarded $2,275 in damages that has yet to be paid.