OPD says officer deleted recorded interview of alleged victim

The Office of the Public Defender has moved for the dismissal of the domestic violence case against a Rota police officer after another police officer allegedly destroyed significant evidence—the audio recording of an interview with the defendant’s wife.

Assistant public defender Tillman Clark, counsel for Police Officer George Ayuyu Barcinas, argued that dismissal is appropriate remedy given the importance of the evidence and the inability of Barcinas to reproduce it.

“While dismissal is a disfavored remedy, Mr. Barcinas has lost a key piece of evidence that was outright destroyed by, at best, negligence by a government agent and is now unable to use it to assist him at trial,” Clark said.

As an alternative, the defense counsel asked the court to impose sanction on the government by precluding the defendant’s wife from testifying.

“Permitting trial to go forward without any sanctions for destruction of evidence would be a violation of Mr. Barcinas’ due process rights and would set an unwelcome precedent for future prosecutions,” Clark said.

The bench trial of 35-year-old Barcinas on charges of assault and battery, disturbing the peace, and interfering with a domestic violence report was originally set for May 6, 2016.

Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho yesterday vacated the bench trial and set that same day an evidentiary hearing and motion hearing at the Rota Courthouse.

In Barcinas’ motion to dismiss, Clark said he was assigned to this case last Dec. 4 and that 10 days later, he furnished a discovery request to the Office of the Attorney General requesting, among other things, “all arrest reports, field notes…dispatch tapes, 911 tapes…or any other tapes or reports that relate to the investigation of the alleged offense…”

Clark said he learned that on the day of the incident, a Rota police officer interviewed the alleged victim inside a police vehicle in a parking lot outside of the Rota clinic.

Clark said the detective, he named only as officer Camacho, stated that he recorded the interview because he wanted to keep it to remember when he wrote his report and to try to avoid multiple interviews with the alleged victim since it may “re-traumatize” her.

Clark said officer Camacho, upon the interview, deleted the recording.

The lawyer said there is no police procedure, which allows or requires officers to delete such evidence.

He said officer Camacho transcribed portions of the interview into his report, which is not a verbatim transcript.

He said officer Camacho did not include any personal observations related to appearance, her emotional state, or any notes on vocal intonation, or anything at all aside from some direct quotes.

Clark said through the discovery does not make it clear, the alleged victim, was apparently interviewed multiple times by officers investigating this case.

He said officer Camacho’s interview appears to be closest in time to the incident.

The Office of the Attorney General alleged that on June 5, 2015 on Rota, Barcinas pinned his wife to the ground and placed her in a headlock. He allegedly grabbed his wife’s keys from her car’s ignition against her will preventing her from leaving his property.

Barcinas also allegedly used physical force to struggle with and prevent the victim from calling law enforcement after she informed him of her intention to do so.
Saipan Tribune learned from Rota DPS yesterday that Barcinas is still on duty.