Argument over land turns fatal

Moses P. Cabrera appeared at the Superior Court in Susupe yesterday for a bail hearing after he was arrested following his alleged confession of killing his own brother, Pedro P. Cabrera, whose lifeless body was found at the Garapan Fishing Base last Thursday.

Facing charges of second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault and battery, and assault with a dangerous weapon, 78-year-old Moses P. Cabrera appeared before Judge Joseph N Camacho and was placed under a $250,000 bail.

Cabrera will have a preliminary hearing on Aug. 9, 2024 at 10am, and his arraignment hearing on Aug. 19, at 9am. He will be appearing with court-appointed Chief Public Defense Attorney Douglas Hartig. Chief Prosecutor Chester Hinds will represent the CNMI government.

In his alleged confession, Moses said he and Pedro had a heated disagreement about their family land, which led to a physical altercation and that Pedro threatened to stab him under the tree at their family compound. Moses then confessed to killing his 71-year-old brother by using a hammer to hit his head and later dumping his body on the southern side of the Garapan Fishing Base.

In a press conference with Department of Public Safety Commissioner Anthony Macaranas, he shared that it was still an open case.

“The investigation is still ongoing. As you know that even though with an arrest, the investigators have other things to look into and further find out.”

He also appreciated the team’s involved for their hard work. He said that while they are still working hard on the case, he acknowledged that their efforts have brought them this far, commending the joint effort of uniformed police and criminal investigators.

“They had worked throughout the day, especially with the investigators, they worked all night until the wee hours just so that they can gather all the information so we can file the charges against the suspect. And of course, they’re still gathering all the evidence, and they’ll be sending all the evidence again for additives at the lab,” said Macaranas.

He also urged community members who may have seen anything suspicious at the Garapan Fishing Base from between 12pm and 5pm to share what they know to the authorities by contacting DPS or Crime Stoppers.

Court documents shed more light on the matter. According to the file, at about 5:07pm on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, DPS dispatched an officer to the Garapan Fishing Base after a report came in of an unconscious male in the area, south of the pavilion. Upon the officer’s arrival at around 5:13pm, he saw a male on the ground with his back leaning against a rock estimated to be 3 feet long and 2 feet in circumference in size. The male had short hair wearing a dark colored T-shirt with black long pants appeared to be Levis. The officer observed what appeared to be a dragon tattoo on the male’s stomach with multiple tattoos on his arms. The officer also observed that the male’s head was tilted backward and saw that his face from his forehead to his nose was cracked open, and the male’s left eye sunk into his head which appeared to the officer like he was staring down a hole. The officer also observed an estimated 1-inch cut on the left side of the male’s chin area, but did not smell any strong odor coming from the body.

The officer requested for crime scene technicians from the Criminal Investigation Bureau to come to his location, and around 6pm, they took photos of the male for evidence purposes before they transported the body to the morgue.

The crime scene technician observed that the male’s body and tattoos looked familiar. They identified the male as a former inmate of the Department of Corrections named Pedro Pangelinan Cabrera. The officer had watched Cabrera during his eight years as a Correction officer.

He recalled meeting with Pedro Cabrera on June 13, 2024, for an interview regarding a complaint against him. The detective had taken a photo of Cabrera at that time and used it to compare the tattoos on the body with the tattoos in the photo. From the male’s arm tattoos and small hoop earring on his left ear, a positive identification confirmed the deceased as Pedro Cabrera.

At approximately 6:50pm, a doctor determined Cabrera’s cause of death to be severe trauma to the head. Other injuries noted include skull fragments and the left eye socket loose in the skull.

At around 6:53pm, police detectives and officers arrived at the San Jose Motel located in Oleai. They encountered a tenant who mentioned that he last saw Cabrera early that morning, but he was unsure of the exact time. He couldn’t recall what Cabrera was wearing but noted that Cabrera often wore a black beanie.

The tenant stated that Cabrera typically visited his family’s residence located south of the motel, which has a white water tank outside. The tenant also stated that Cabrera’s brother, Moses Cabrera, was the only person who would drive Cabrera if he needed to go anywhere and that Moses owned a black Nissan Sentra. After they concluded their interview, detectives stepped out of the San Jose Motel building and saw a black Nissan Sentra parked at Moses’ residence.

Around 7pm, the officer and detectives met with Moses and interviewed him in front of his residence. Moses stated that he had been drinking alcoholic beverages with his brothers Pedro and Fritz Cabrera, at his residence in the afternoon. He wasn’t certain about the exact time but said that he left them to go fishing from the Carolinian Utt Pavilion to the Garapan Fishing Base.

Moses showed the location where he and his siblings were drinking, which was located in the eastern part of the compound. The officer observed beer cans east of Moses’ parked Nissan Sentra and a pair of slippers behind the car.

Another officer asked Moses about the slippers and Moses identified them as belonging to his brother Pedro. Detectives asked Moses if he could see the talaya (fishing net), he used for fishing and when Moses showed them the detectives touched the net and it was dry.

At approximately 9:47pm CST and CIB investigators returned to Moses and Fritzs’ residence to collect the beer cans as evidence. After collecting the cans, they went back to their vehicle to secure the evidence. While walking back to their car, CST noticed drops of dark liquid on the rear bumper of a Nissan Sentra which was registered to Moses. The vehicle was parked underneath a tent with the front of the car facing the road. CST went up close to get a better look and shined his flashlight on the bumper and saw that it was dark red droplets that appeared to be blood. Some droplets were still wet.

Detectives informed CST that he found the deceased’s beanie on a closed box on a picnic table just outside of Moses and Fritz’s outdoor kitchen. Detectives also discovered what appeared to be blood on a rubber mat with holes just in front of the table and a hammer with what appeared to be blood just next to a FEMA tent onsite.

As CST collected samples, he heard a loud noise coming from the south of the residence. CST along with other investigators began to clear the south side of the residence. After clearing the south side of the residence, they returned to the front using a narrow pathway between the outside kitchen and a FEMA tent. Detectives saw something on the ground that appeared to be vomit. CST investigators took a closer look and observed what appeared to be brain matter and blood spatter on the roofing tin wall and the FEMA tent all within Moses and Fritz’s property.

On Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, at approximately 3:52pm, detectives reviewed the surveillance footage from the Salt and Barber Salon located along Beach Road, Garapan. The footage from Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, at approximately 2:50pm, captured Moses’ Nissan Sentra heading south on Beach Road, then turning into the southern entrance of the Fishing Base and heading north toward the pier. At approximately 3:25pm, the Nissan Sentra was seen heading toward the southernmost part of the Garapan Fishing Base. At approximately 3:28pm, an individual was observed walking away from where the Nissan Sentra was parked and sat at the nearest pavilion. At approximately 3:42pm, the same individual was seen walking back to where the Nissan Sentra was parked. Finally, at approximately 3:58pm, the Nissan Sentra was seen leaving, heading east before turning back around and heading northwest towards Garapan Public Market.

On the same day at approximately 11:30am, officers served a rule affidavit to a detainee at the Department of Corrections and encountered Moses in his booking cell.

When the officer expressed her condolences to Moses and his family, Moses responded in the Chamorro language, saying, “Lania si Pedro pao Buena yu gi papa’ trongku,” which translates to English as “Pedro was going to stab me under the tree” the officer informed Moses that she couldn’t interview him without going over his constitutional rights. Moses repeated multiple times that Pedro was trying to “Buena” him, which translates to English as “stab him.” the officer asked Moses if they could talk once he gets released from DOC, and Moses agreed.

At approximately 11:39pm, the same officer walked over to the Department of Corrections to meet with Moses. The officer observed that Moses was limping, so she offered him a ride, which Moses accepted during the car ride, and in the presence of a task force officer she informed Moses that he was not under arrest and he could leave at any time, and he didn’t have to answer any questions or speak to her. Moses acknowledged his Miranda rights, he mentioned that he and Pedro had a heated disagreement about their family land, which led to a physical altercation as Pedro threatened to stab him under the tree at their family compound. Moses later confessed to killing Pedro by using a hammer to hit Pedro head and later dumping his body at the southern side of the Garapan Fishing Base.

As the investigation continues, DPS is asking community members to share any of information they may have on the event.