Man who murdered security guard is paroled

The CNMI Board of Parole has granted early release for one of three men who were convicted of beating a Marianas High School security guard to death back in 2008.

Following a day of deliberations, Edward Iglecias Blas gained a majority vote from the CNMI Board of Parole in favor of granting his application for parole.

Blas was convicted back in 2011 of murder in the first degree after pleading guilty to the brutal killing of an MHS security guard with two others as part of a plan to rob the school.

In a short comment from parole officer Jason Lizama, he said that no matter what the board’s decision is, parole officers will continue to carry out their jobs of ensuring the community’s safety while parolees work on rehabilitating themselves.

“Whatever the decision the board makes on the inmates that are granted parole, the Board of Parole Officers will continue to do their job to ensure that the community is safe by supervision and a close monitoring of each active parolee in the CNMI. Any minor infraction will be subjected to an arrest. Most importantly, we have a strong partnership with the Hope Recovery Center and the Community Guidance Center to assist our parolees in a successful re-integration into our community,” he said.

According to a previous Saipan Tribune article, Blas was 16 years old when he was arrested with two other defendants for burglarizing MHS and robbing and killing a security guard.

Although he was a minor at the time, he was tried as an adult due to the severity of the charges.

Blas was sentenced in February 2011 to 24 years in prison as part of a plea deal.

He applied for parole back in 2020 but was denied. This was his second time to apply for parole.

In a previous memo from Chester Hinds, Chief Prosecutor for the Office of the Attorney General’s Criminal Division, he told the Parole Board that the Commonwealth strongly opposes the release of Blas, but also recommended that, in the event that the inmate is granted early release despite the division’s opposition, Blas should still be subject to the probationary terms and conditions stated in the sentence and commitment order issued by Presiding Judge Robert C. Naraja.

“The defendant’s 20 years probation shall be supervised probation, and if earlier paroled, both the OAG and Parole Office shall have concurrent jurisdiction, and to include all other applicable impositions of the inmate’s sentence,” he said.

Another parole applicant, Edward Tudela Sablan, who was convicted of sexual assault in the second degree, was not granted early release.
According to court documents, Sablan pleaded guilty to sexual assault in the second degree back in 2020 after forcing himself on a woman and inappropriately touching her.

He was sentenced to five years, all suspended except for two years and shall be released on Feb. 26, 2023.