Guam Attorney General Douglas Moylan will be pursuing the deportation of a non-citizen convicted at trial today, who on April 12, 2023 – a jury agreed – broke into a Dededo home wielding a machete after midnight, when and where a family was sleeping, and threatened to kill them. Tien Slander, the 27 year old convicted by the jury, faces up to nine years in prison for burglary, terrorizing, and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.
“The AG’s Office will seek the maximum sentence from Judge Tolentino of 9 years’ imprisonment. We will also be working to have this criminal defendant deported,” a news release from the Office of the Attorney General states.
According to both the original charging document in April, and the OAG news release today, Mr. Slander broke into the home some time before 2 a.m. April 12 this year and was confronted by a man, he awoke, who yelled at Slander to leave.
“According to the neighbor, upon Mr. Slander running from the house and being chased by the adult male victim (father), Defendant Slander yelled to the victim ‘[F]uck you, I will kill you,'” the OAG news release states.
The male victim, his daughter, and an elderly woman were sleeping in the home, when Mr. Slander broke in with the machete, according to court documents.
Police pulled over Mr. Slander at around 1:54 a.m. April 12 as he was exiting the housing area, where the victims stayed at the time. His headlights were not on, and when police called in the vehicle over radio, dispatch informed the officers the vehicle Mr. Slander was driving was involved in an unauthorized vehicle use complaint. After officers pulled him over, they smelled alcohol coming from his breath. Then, the man whose home he had just burglarized and whom Mr. Slander threatened with the machete, caught up to the vehicle from his chase from the home.
“Victim was sweating profusely and shouting that Defendant had broken into his house and had a machete,” the original charging document states. “Victim stated to the police that just a few minutes ago, Victim awoke to Defendant in his residence. Victim confronted Defendant and asked what he was doing in his house. Defendant stated that he was looking for his brother and was holding a machete. Victim was scared and felt that his life was threatened. Victim told Defendant to get out of his house, and Defendant raised his machete and told him that he was going to kill him.”
Police officers administered a breathalyzer test on Mr. Slander more than an hour after pulling him over and his blood alcohol content registered at 0.208, according to the charging document.
Mr. Slander, who is not a U.S. citizen, is scheduled to be sentenced on November 6, and will remain in jail through this period. Because he is not a U.S. citizen and he has been convicted of a violent crime, he now is a candidate for deportation. The news release and court documents do not state where Mr. Slander is from.
The news release does not state whether the OAG will push for deportation following or during Mr. Slander’s sentence. However, Mr. Moylan previously has stated his preference for non-citizens convicted of violent crimes to serve at least the majority of their sentences prior to deportation in order for victims to have a greater sense of justice.
1 Comments
Frank Perez
07/29/2023 at 8:19 AM
Deportation is a necessary solution especially if there is reasonable expectation that the alleged perpetrator will commit another crime! However, exactly how strong is the judicial relationship between Guam and this criminal’s home country? Will he just get in a plane, boat, or kayak and return to Guam?