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Owner of pot plantation with booby traps gets 21-day sentence
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Posted on Aug 10 2011
The owner of a marijuana plantation surrounded with booby traps in Kagman III was slapped with a 21-day prison term.
Superior Court associate judge Perry B. Inos sentenced Newly Aldan Agulto on Thursday to three months in prison, all suspended except for 21 days, for illegal possession of a controlled substance, with credit for four days of time served.
The 39-year-old Agulto will start serving the remaining 17 days on Aug. 24, 2011. After that he will be placed on one year probation.
Agulto was ordered to pay a $500 fine, $100 probation fee, and $25 court assessment fee. He was also required to perform 60 hours of community service.
The Office of the Attorney General had charged Agulto with trafficking of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance.
Agulto, with counsel, Edward Arriola Sr., pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a controlled substance as part of a plea deal. The other charge was dropped.
It was the CNMI Drug Enforcement Task Force that uncovered the marijuana plantation. Detective Steve Castro, a member of the task force, injured his left foot and two toes after stepping on a crude booby trap—a slab of wood with nails sticking out.
The officers found several booby traps camouflaged with banana leaves and grass surrounding the area.
Police said that Agulto cultivated the marijuana in the jungle area surrounding his residence on Chopak St. in Kagman III. The task force reportedly recovered a total of 96 marijuana plants.
