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Poker house robber gets 20 years
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Posted on Jun 23 2005
The Superior Court ordered Wednesday the immediate incarceration of a man who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for charges related to robbery of a Garapan poker establishment last year.
In a written sentencing order, a copy of which was sent to the Saipan Tribune yesterday, Associate Judge Kenneth Govendo explained that the 20-year imprisonment he imposed on Moses Martin is the total jail term for the defendant’s conviction on robbery and assault with a dangerous weapon.
Govendo meted out 10 years imprisonment for each of the charges. The judge suspended the total jail term of 20 years except for eight years, giving credit to the one year and six days that Martin had already spent in jail. The judge said Martin would serve at least three years and four months in prison without parole.
As part of the conditions of the suspended sentence, Martin would be placed on supervised probation for 12 years, the judge said.
Martin and two others, Vincent SN. Norita and Vincent Castro, went inside the R & C Poker on Beach Road, Garapan on June 14, 2004 and injured poker attendant Zen Bin Li. Armed with a machete and bat, the group took a few thousand dollars from the establishment and Zen’s wallet containing cash.
In a written order, the judge affirmed the five-year prison term he imposed on Norita, who had pleaded guilty to robbery. The judge suspended the prison term except for two years, giving credit for the seven days that Norita had already spent in jail. He ordered Norita to surrender to the Department of Corrections on June 28 at 8am to begin serving his sentence.
The judge imposed on Martin and Norita a $500 fine each, directed each of the defendants to render 200 hours of community service and pay one-third each of any restitution amount to R & C Poker and its employee. Earlier, the court had convicted and sentenced defendant Castro on a charge of robbery.
