The star figure in the Red Jeep – Jerry Kitchen scandal broke down several times on the witness stand as defense attorney David Lujan ripped apart her testimony to police and jurors Tuesday.
Guam Police Department officer Joneen Terlaje, for the second day in a row, took the witness stand for the prosecution in the case against her friend, Nakita Aguon. Ms. Aguon was charged in 2021 by then-Attorney General Leevin Camacho for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol at the time her red Jeep crashed into Jerry Kitchen on February 25, 2021. Ms. Terlaje and two other women also were occupants of the Jeep.
Ms. Terlaje has, arguably, been the most controversial figure in the scandal; her name outshining even the name of the defendant in the public sphere.
The emphasis on her role in the scandal was heightened by a number of factors, starting with her grandfather’s one-time senatorial staffer, Chris Carillo, telling Kandit Ms. Terlaje was not present for the crime. The police chief later revealed the truth: she was, indeed, an occupant at the time of the crash.
The scandal grew, when GPD at first refused to provide information about the crime, then revealed – after intense scrutiny from media and the public – that no field sobriety test was administered to any of the occupants.
That revelation was followed by a dirty laundry list of police missteps in the traffic case that began to call into question whether police officers were covering up for one or more of their own.
Monday while questioned by prosecutor Grant Olan, Ms. Terlaje said her friend Ms. Aguon was the driver that night (a point of contention in the trial, as police reports state the lone eye witness described another female driver), but that she wasn’t drinking. Mr. Olan then showed Ms. Terlaje and the jury video surveillance from The Venue taken shortly before the crash, which showed both women and their friends drinking from shot glasses.
Ms. Terlaje’s testimony about Ms. Aguon being the driver conflicts with the lone (uninvolved) eye witness account of G4S security officer Ruthy Pachamwai, who gave police the description of a woman getting out of the driver’s side of the Jeep after the crash. That description matches one of the other female occupants.
Texts moments before accident: “Yeah. Keeps. Fhrmm. Drunk.”
Mr. Lujan dug into these inconsistencies in his cross examination today of Ms. Terlaje.
Text messages right before crash: “You ok to drive?” – “Yeah” … “I got into an accident”
WhatsApp messages discovered in the case between Ms. Terlaje and her girlfriend at the time reveal conversations that occurred moments before and immediately after the crash.
At 12:53 a.m. on February 25, 2021, the girlfriend messaged Ms. Terlaje: “You ok to drive?
Twenty 24 minutes later, in four successive one-word messages, Ms. Terlaje replies: “Yeah. Keeps. Fhrmm. Drunk.”
At 1:38 a.m., Ms. Terlaje messaged her girlfriend: “I got into an accident.”
“Is there a difference between, ‘I got into an accident,’ and ‘Nakita got me into an accident?'” Mr. Lujan asked her.
“Yes.”
“What’s the difference?”
“I is referring to me, myself,” she admitted.
“That’s right,” Mr. Lujan validated. “That you got into an accident, right?”
“Yes.”
“And you weren’t saying that Nakita got into an accident, isn’t that correct?”
“Yes,” Ms. Terlaje replied.
Terlaje tells her girlfriend to lie for her
After Kandit exposed the scandal in the days following the crash, Ms. Terlaje’s girlfriend messaged her, “Thank you Lord for protecting my love and her friends [prayer emoji].’
Ms. Terlaje replied, “Thank you Lord. People asking if it’s me. Like Troy Torres. I’m saying no. So just say no love if anyone asks if I was in the car.”
Ms. Terlaje’s direction to her girlfriend at the time was made after Troy Torres of Kandit News messaged Mr. Carillo asking whether Ms. Terlaje was involved in the crash that destroyed Jerry Kitchen. Mr. Carillo told Torres that Ms. Terlaje was NOT one of the passengers in the crash.
Torres followed up with this question: “Was she present at the scene?”
“I just spoke with her and I can confirm that she got a call that a friend of hers was in an accident and she went to the scene to make sure her friend was not injured,” Mr. Carillo said about Ms. Terlaje.
Mr. Carillo also provided an alibi for Ms. Terlaje’s whereabouts on that night. “She was driving her Jeep that night, I seen her,” he said, informing Kandit that Ms. Terlaje’s Jeep is gray, not red.
Following intense criticism from both the public and the media, GPD was forced to admit that the police officer who responded to the scene, Chris Champion, did not conduct any sobriety tests. The crash report, which was withheld by GPD but leaked to the media, showed Champion marked up a simple citation for the incident. Witnesses said the official police account differed greatly from what actually happened.
Asked whether he believed the reports coming out of his police department, chief Ignacio said he had no reason to suspect his officers had done anything wrong. Despite his insistence, the public confidence in his agency waned, and Ignacio was forced to call for a second investigation.
Mr. Lujan has maintained from the start of the trial that his client is innocent of the DUI charge, a victim of police corruption that set her up to take the fall. At the heart of that theory is the defendant’s friend, Ms. Terlaje.
Mr. Lujan asked Ms. Terlaje on the witness stand Tuesday, “Do you blame anybody for what happened?”
“No, I don’t,” she replied.
“But you blamed Troy Torres,” Mr. Lujan replied. “We have the text messages.”
1 Comments
Fizzlehack
06/15/2023 at 9:25 PM
Your Honor,
I am here to present a legal argument for why all arrests made by Police Officer Chris Champion and Officer Joneen Terlaje should be re-tried if it is proven that they were involved in a cover-up. The principles of justice and the rights of the accused are of utmost importance, and any actions that compromise these principles must be thoroughly addressed.
First and foremost, a cover-up involving two police officers, such as Officer Chris Champion and Officer Joneen Terlaje, represents a serious breach of trust and undermines the fundamental principles of justice. Police officers are entrusted with upholding the law and protecting the rights of individuals. When officers engage in a cover-up, they abuse their authority and compromise the fairness and impartiality of the criminal justice system. Re-trying all arrests connected to their actions becomes imperative to restore integrity and ensure justice is served.
Secondly, a cover-up by police officers not only violates the rights of the accused but also erodes public trust in law enforcement. The public relies on police officers to act with integrity, honesty, and transparency. When officers engage in a cover-up, it undermines the trust and confidence that the community places in the police force as a whole. Re-trials of all arrests involving Officer Chris Champion and Officer Joneen Terlaje are necessary to restore public faith in law enforcement and to demonstrate that those who breach the public trust will be held accountable.
Furthermore, a cover-up involving two police officers raises significant concerns about the potential for wrongful convictions. By intentionally concealing evidence or manipulating facts, Officer Chris Champion and Officer Joneen Terlaje may have wrongfully implicated innocent individuals in criminal activities. Re-opening the cases affected by their misconduct is essential to ensure a thorough review of the evidence, rectify any miscarriages of justice, and protect the rights of those who may have been wrongfully convicted.
Moreover, the principle of equality before the law dictates that all individuals involved in a cover-up, regardless of their position or authority, must be held accountable for their actions. Police officers have a duty to act in accordance with the law and to ensure the fair and impartial administration of justice. Re-trying all arrests connected to Officer Chris Champion and Officer Joneen Terlaje’s cover-up ensures that they face appropriate legal consequences and that the rights of the accused are safeguarded.
In conclusion, the involvement of Police Officer Chris Champion and Officer Joneen Terlaje in a cover-up necessitates the re-trial of all arrests connected to their actions. By doing so, we uphold the principles of justice, restore public trust in law enforcement, rectify any potential wrongful convictions, and ensure that no individual, regardless of their position, is above the law. It is our duty to protect the rights of the accused and maintain the integrity of our criminal justice system.