Previous Story
Cangco gets 18-month probation for lying to FBI
U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona has imposed an 18-month probation sentence on Evelyn Duenas Cangco, the 49-year-old woman who lied to the Federal Bureau of Investigation that a Chinese man set her on fire in San Antonio.
At a hearing on Friday, Manglona ordered Cangco to perform 40 hours of community service and pay a $100 special assessment fee.
All fines were waived after Manglona determined that Cangco does not have the ability to pay a fine.
Assistant U.S. attorney Rami Badawy recommended the probation sentence, saying there were no victims in this case.
Court-appointed defense counsel David Banes also recommended a probation sentence. He described Cangco as a middle-aged woman with physical and emotional health issues.
Banes said that Cangco has no criminal history and, after her initial denial, she confessed to lying even before she had counsel and even before she was officially charged, she agreed to plead guilty immediately after being charged.
Banes said Cangco is not violent, does not use drugs, nor does she drink alcohol to excess.
Last Sept. 11, Cangco pleaded guilty to the offense of making a false statement.
Cangco had claimed that an unknown Chinese man shoved her from behind and threw gasoline on her back as she was returning to her vehicle, which was parked in front of the San Antonio Market on March 26, 2013. Cangco alleged that she struggled with her assailant, who was holding a green lighter in his hand. Cangco stated that the Chinese man then ignited the lighter and set her on fire before fleeing on foot, heading south on Beach Road.
Cangco later admitted to filling a jar with gasoline from a can at her home before driving to the San Antonio Market, where she doused herself with gasoline, then lit herself on fire.
Police investigation showed that Cangco was admitted to the Commonwealth Health Center for second-degree burns on both hands and her entire back.
