Babauta guilty, Anastacio cleared of charges

A Superior Court jury on Friday rendered a guilty verdict against Sonny Babauta, a 21-year-old man accused of conspiring with others in burglarizing and stealing copper wires and other items from a warehouse in Afetnas.

Before the jurors deliberated that day, associate judge Joseph N. Camacho granted attorney William Fitzgerald’s motion for judgment of acquittal to Babauta’s co-defendant, Petrus Anastacio, as to the remaining charge of accessory after the fact to burglary.

When the prosecutors rested their case on Wednesday, Camacho granted Fitzgerald’s motion for judgment of acquittal as to the charges of theft and conspiracy to commit theft filed against Anastacio.

After deliberating for less than an hour Friday night, the six jurors reached a unanimous verdict, finding Babauta guilty of all charges—two counts of burglary, two counts of conspiracy to commit burglary, two counts of theft, and two counts of conspiracy to commit theft.

Camacho set the sentencing for Jan. 8, 2014 at 9am.

Babauta was allowed to remain on temporary release on the same pre-trial bail conditions until the sentencing date.

Saying the case is straightforward, the judge denied defense counsel Joaquin Torres’ request for the Office of the Adult Probation to prepare a pre-sentence investigation report.

In an interview with Saipan Tribune after the hearing, Torres said he respects the jury in many ways and that this is one of the few cases in which he has seen with many discrepancies in the witnesses’ testimonies.

“So I am still puzzled with the verdict,” Torres said.

Asked if he will be filing post-trial motions, Torres said he has not spoken with the defendant about that issue.

Assistant attorney general Chemere McField said the government is pleased with the outcome in this case.

McField said prior to the trial, the three co-conspirators pleaded guilty to burglary and that two of them were sentenced each to the maximum of 10 years in prison.

“We are pleased that Mr. Babauta was held accountable for his involvement in that,” McField said.

Babauta is facing the maximum sentence of 27 years in jail.

On Anastacio’s acquittal, McField said they believe in the justice system and in the jury.

“So we are pleased either way. Justice is served whenever a verdict is reached. So we do feel that justice was served today,” she said.

Assistant attorney general Margo Brown, who assisted McField in the trial, thanked Department of Public Safety personnel for their help in this case.

In the government’s closing arguments, McField said they called in a total of six witnesses, including the three conspirators who provided firsthand knowledge and participated in burglarizing and stealing copper wires, power tools, and cases of soda at Han Nam warehouse, formerly known as Uno Moda Factory between Dec. 18 and 19, 2012.

In his closing arguments, Torres asked the jurors to render a not guilty verdict to Babauta because the government didn’t do their job.

Torres said he admits that the prosecution’s witnesses were all consistent that Babauta was at the scene, but that none of them, however, were consistent on what Babauta was doing.

Torres said the government relied on the inconsistent statements of convicted felons—Fiden Hamo, Jeffrey Lizama, and Matthias Salisban.

Torres said Hamo, Lizama, and Salisban testified because they needed to help the government to prosecute Babauta as part of their plea agreement.

Lizama, Salisban, and Hamo all signed a plea agreement with the government and pleaded guilty.

Camacho already sentenced Lizama and Salisban to the full maximum jail term of 10 years in prison. Hamo will be sentenced after the trial.

According to the prosecution, on Dec. 18 and 19, 2012, Hamo twice entered the Han Nam warehouse, formerly known as the Onu Moda Factory, with co-defendants Babauta, Lizama, and Salisban.

Upon entering the warehouse, Hamo along with co-defendants, allegedly stole copper wires, power tools, and other items. The group, along with Anastacio, allegedly transported, altered, and stored the copper wires for resale.