Pawnshop robber gets 42 years in prison

An ex-convict who was found guilty of attempted murder and 10 other charges for his role in a 2009 armed robbery of a pawnshop was meted a 42-year prison sentence in Superior Court yesterday.

Of the 42-year sentence, the 26-year-old Fernando C. Quitano shall serve a mandatory minimum of 20 years and two months, said associate judge David A. Wiseman, with credit for time served.

“Mr. Quitano, society demands retribution for your wrongful act and that you be incapacitated or isolated from citizens of society as long as possible in order that the danger you present to society is removed,” Wiseman said.

He said the mere thought of being accosted by a criminal who smashes down the door and the cashier’s booth with a sledgehammer and then assaulting the two employees with a crowbar in broad daylight “is reprehensible and is of such nature which simply cannot be tolerated in a civilized society.”

Wiseman ordered Quitano to pay an $8,000 fine, $6,919.42 in reimbursement to the pawnshop, $100 court assessment fee, plus probation fees in an amount to be assessed by the Office of Adult Probation.

A jury found Quitano guilty on March 5, 2011, of one count of attempted murder, two counts of aggravated assault and battery, two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, one count of armed robbery, one count of burglary, one count of theft, and one count of conspiracy to commit robbery. The jury acquitted him on one count of attempted murder.

Wiseman, who presided over the misdemeanor charges, found Quitano guilty of two counts of assault and battery, and not guilty of contempt.

At yesterday’s sentencing, Wiseman said that Quitano, along with another, used a sledgehammer to smash their way into 24 Hours Pawnshop in Chalan Kanoa on Oct. 23, 2009. The two, wearing masks, smashed the glass cashier’s booth and attacked the employees and a 73-year-old man with a crowbar and sledgehammer. Quitano was captured on videotape repeatedly hitting with a crowbar one of employees who was already on the ground.

Wiseman said that sentencing decisions should be designed to ensure that prison resources are, first and foremost, reserved for violent and serious criminal offenders who pose the most danger to society. He believes that Quitano “is one of those violent and serious criminal offenders.”

He noted that although a young man, Quitano has a long criminal history that includes six crimes of theft, 11 crimes of burglary, one crime of attempted robbery, one count of assault and battery, six crimes of criminal mischief, and one crime of escape.

In addition, the judge said, Quitano has another criminal case scheduled for trial where he is charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, conspiracy to commit robbery, robbery, and criminal mischief.

“The allegations in said pending case, like the proven conduct in this case, involve extreme reckless violence of defendant,” Wiseman said.

He said the 46-year-old pawnshop robbery victim had told the court how he had to undergo medical treatment and surgery for a fractured arm, lacerations in the head, and bruises in the chest and arms. As a result, the victim had to have staples for his head injury and surgery to implant a metal blade on his fractured arm.

“He is a family man who fears for his children and has nightmares of the incident,” Wiseman said.

The 73-year-old victim, Jung Sang So, the judge said, was treated for bruises on the chest and had gone back to Korea and will not return to Saipan because of the incident.

Wiseman said the factor of incapacitation will remove Quitano from the community for an extended time until he is “either too old or feeble” to do anyone any harm upon his release.

Quitano’s co-defendant, Marlon Martin, pleaded guilty to armed robbery and was sentenced in April 2010 to seven years in prison, with no parole.

The government dismissed the case against Zhou Fan Zhang. The fourth suspect—Steven Suzuki—was not charged after he cooperated with the government in the investigation.