Guam superior court judges either have been locking up or requiring bail of pre-trial criminal defendants more often than they normally do, but some who were released on personal recognizance bonds are violating the conditions of their release and allegedly committing new crimes. According to the latest report by Douglas Moylan’s Office of the Attorney General, in October 40 criminal defendants on pre-trial release and 40 convicted criminals on probation violated their terms of release.
Six of them allegedly committed new crimes, including drug possession, firearms violations, assaulting a peace officer, child abuse, family violence, theft, and burglary, according to a report from the OAG.
While that is a reported decrease from prior months’ reports, the attorney general remains concerned about those defendants who continue to violate terms of their release.
“Fifty-four of the violations in this report are not the defendants’ first violation,” Mr. Moylan wrote in his release. “An alarming number of violations continue to occur, showing a blatant disrespect for our Courts and endangering us all. Numerous defendants amassed large numbers of violations yet were released.”
According to the OAG, those include 14 alleged violations by Edelina Castro, 11 alleged violations by Vance Kaneshi, and 11 alleged violations by Jacob Cepeda.
Mr. Moylan began publishing these monthly reports in February, likely to the chagrin of the Judiciary of Guam. To counter public concern about what appeared to be a judiciary tone deaf to the barrage of violent crime, the courts began publishing its own reports highlighting the numbers of criminal defendants who are released pending trial and are not caught violating the conditions of their release.
Whether the public pressure drummed up by Mr. Moylan made the difference or was just a coincidence, judges began to keep more criminal defendants in jail pending trial since Mr. Moylan’s reports.
1 Comments
Frank
11/09/2023 at 7:06 PM
Kudos to A.G. Moylan for keeping his campaign promises!