Previous Story
House panel OKs 5 to 25 years for drug trafficking
With the CNMI ramping up efforts to curb illegal drug use and drug trafficking, the House Judiciary and Government Operations is recommending passage of a bill imposing jail time of five to 25 years for drug trafficking that is commensurate with whether or not the crime was committed by a first-time offender or a former convicted felon on his second, third, or fourth drug-related offense.
The bill provides judicial discretion for the serious offense of dealing drugs, especially “ice.”
“This legislation maintains the severe penalties for those that repeat their crimes by committing a second or subsequent offense while providing wide latitude to courts,” the House JGO said in recommending passage of Rep. Christopher Leon Guerrero’s (Cov-Saipan) House Bill 18-38 in the form of House Draft 1.
For first offenders, the bill still mandates the court to sentence the offender to not less than five years without the possibility of any early release via parole. However, it maintains the 25-year possible sentence for cases that are egregious.
At present, the minimum mandatory penalty for a first offense for trafficking “ice” is 25 years without the possibility of suspension or parole.
Under the bill, the term of 25 years becomes mandatory only upon a second offense as opposed to a first offense.
The life imprisonment provision, which applied to a second offense in the original law, now becomes the applicable penalty for the third or subsequent offense under this amendment.
The House JGO Committee is chaired by the bill’s author, Leon Guerrero, a former police officer with the Department of Public Safety. Five of the seven committee members signed off on the report recommending House passage of HB 18-38, HD1.
Under the bill, parole eligibility starts only after serving the minimum term of five years.
The bill also clarifies that the term of incarceration is mandatory and that the fine component is in addition to jail time as opposed to being an alternative to the mandatory term of incarceration.
