Investigation uncovers possible tampering in Kagman shooting

The compiled report on the Kagman shooting incident involving two minors and a service-issued firearm has provided more details into the incident that happened back in May and has uncovered possible tampering of evidence.

DPS officer Raymond Lizama Saralu, whose service-firearm is believed to have been the gun used in the Kagman shooting, appeared before Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph Camacho yesterday for a bail hearing.

After the hearing, Saipan Tribune obtained a copy of the complaint filed in support of Saralu’s arrest, which essentially compiled reports from police officers who investigated the incident.

According to the complaint, the evidence found at the scene may have been tampered with as the gun that was allegedly determined to have been used in the shooting was found in a laundry basket and covered with clothes while another gun was found on the floor near the 7-year-old who had been shot.

During the bail hearing, Saralu’s lawyer, Karie Comstock, asked that the court to reduce her client’s bail to at least 10% of his initial $50,000 bail, stating that the crime was not a crime of malice.

However, Chief Prosecutor Chester Hinds opposed the request, stating that there should be more conditions set before bail is reduced and Saralu is released to the same environment where the incident had occurred.

Camacho denied the defense’s request to reduce bail until further release conditions are proposed, noting his concern that some form of tampering may have been involved in this case.

“I have concerns. Based on the affidavit, the firearm was found on a belt in a chair but when police came, the gun was back in its holster under some clothes. Then, another gun was found on the floor. There are things that don’t add up. My concern is that money will be posted [for bail] but without guarantees. Therefore the court denies reduction of bail. The court can address [bail modification] once restrictions are discussed,” he said.

After the bail hearing, Camacho ordered that Saralu be remanded back to Department of Corrections custody and ordered him to return to court on Aug. 11 at 10am for his preliminary hearing. Meanwhile, Saralu’s arraignment was set for Aug. 21.

Meanwhile, in a statement from the Department of Public Safety, it said that Saralu, who has been with the department for seven years, has been placed on administrative leave without pay pending the outcome of the case.

According to the complaint, DPS dispatch received a call from off-duty officer Saralu at around 9:06pm last May 21, asking that an ambulance be sent to his residence.

When first responders arrived, they found a 7-year-old boy lying in a pool of blood. He was rushed to the Commonwealth Health Center but was later transported to Guam Memorial Hospital for surgery.

Although he is recovering, the boy has reportedly lost vision in his left eye and has lost muscle control on one side of his face.

Court documents state that in the ambulance, the boy allegedly told his mother that his minor uncle took a gun from Saralu’s work belt, which was on a chair in his bedroom. When the victim took the gun to give it back to Saralu, the gun went off on his face. The boy reiterated this statement in a follow up interview on June 14.

At Saralu’s residence, officers stated that they found eight unsecured firearms, one was found near the boy and another was Saralu’s service firearm, which was in its holster inside a basket covered with clothes.

Police noted that several of the firearms found were in an unfinished closet that had no doors nor plywood shelving, with no trigger locks and were not inside a safe.

When police asked him, Saralu said he did not have a safe yet.

It was only recently determined that Saralu’s service firearm was the one used in the accidental shooting after a ballistics test was ran on three of the eight firearms that were found in the home.