Ex-DOC commissioner, ex-inmate settle

Former Department of Corrections commissioner Wally Villagomez has reached a settlement agreement with former DOC inmate Price Shoiter in the inmate’s suit against DOC and its officials alleging denial of adequate medical care.

The U.S. District Court for the NMI dismissed with prejudice last week Shoiter’s suit against former DOC officials Villagomez and Georgia Cabrera in their personal capacities and the CNMI government after the parties notified the court that they have officially reached a settlement.

Dismissal with prejudice means the lawsuit cannot be refiled.

Under the settlement agreement, Villagomez will pay Shoiter $15,000 in monthly installments for five years, with an interest rate of 4.5% compounded annually.

As for Cabrera, the agreement is that she will pay Shoiter a total of $1,500 at a rate of $150 every two weeks.

The CNMI has agreed to pay Shoiter a total of $48,500 in monthly installments for six months through the Dotts Law Office. That means the CNMI will pay Shoiter $8,083 every month.

The first payments from Villagomez, Cabrera, and the CNMI are due on Dec. 15. If a defendant fails to pay or is late in payment, Shoiter is to notify the defendant who is late and provide 15 days’ time to cure the late payment.

U.S. District Court for the NMI Senior Judge Alex Munson dismissed the case, but retained jurisdiction to enforce the settlement.

Villagomez and Cabrera will bear their own attorneys’ fees and costs.

“All motions before the court are hereby terminated and the hearing on Cabrera’s motion for summary judgment is vacated. The bench trial set before Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona for Dec. 12. 2023, is vacated,” said Munson.

Shoiter, a 74-year-old Chuukese national, was sentenced in 2016 to 10 years in prison for sexually abusing a 7-year-old girl.

He later sued DOC officials, alleging denial of adequate medical care.

Shoiter was in DOC custody beginning on Nov. 15, 2015. On Jan. 6, 2023, former governor Ralph DLG Torres granted him clemency and his sentence was commuted to time served, subject to the condition that Shoiter is removed from the CNMI.

On May 6, 2023, he was released to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which removed him from the CNMI.