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Court dismisses case vs man accused of firing pistol in Garapan
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Posted on Feb 22 2022
The NMI Superior Court has dismissed the case against a man who was accused of firing a pistol in Garapan back in November 2021 because the victim, who was also the main witness, died last month.
Last week, Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph Camacho granted assistant attorney general Steve Kessel’s motion to dismiss, with prejudice, the case against Norman Desebel Kapileo, 47, because the victim, and the government’s main witness, died last Jan. 21, 2022. Dismissal with prejudice means the case cannot be filed again.
Kapileo was charged with assault and battery, assault with a dangerous weapon, and disturbing the peace following an incident back on Nov. 4, 2021, when he allegedly fired a pistol in Garapan.
Camacho vacated Kapileo’s jury trial that was previously set for June 6, at 9am.
According to court documents, Department of Public Safety officers responded last Nov. 4, 2021 at approximately 10:48pm to a report of possible gunshots in an abandoned apartment in Garapan.
At the scene, police spoke with the alleged victim, Peter Aldan, who told police that Kapileo came to the abandoned building looking for another individual but when Aldan said he did not know where the other individual was, Kapileo got mad and pulled a gun out of his pocket and “pistol whipped” him.
Police noted that the person Kapileo was looking for had a fight with Kapileo’s brother on Nov. 3, 2021.
The victim told police that when he realized that it was a gun that Kapileo was holding, he reached for it and held Kapileo’s right arm and wrist in an attempt to take the gun away from him, prompting Kapileo to shoot a round. The victim said he continued struggling with Kapileo as he tried to take the gun away from the suspect. The victim stated he even bit Kapileo’s finger in an effort to take the gun away.
During the struggle, the victim said three or four more shots were fired, but he could not recall which direction it was fired.
The victim stated that when he and Kapileo fell to the ground, he hit Kapileo’s hand hard enough and the gun flew out of his hand, landing far south from where they had fallen. Kapileo then reportedly fled the scene with the gun before police arrived.
