Third suspect in drug case pleads ‘not guilty’

Carl Cabrera, a Guam resident who allegedly conspired with two Saipan policemen in peddling illegal drugs that were believed to be part of stolen evidence, contested the criminal case against him when he appeared in Saipan’s federal court yesterday.

Cabrera pleaded “not guilty” to a charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute at least five grams of methamphetamine hydrochloride, commonly known as ice, sometime in 2003 during his arraignment yesterday, days after the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested him on Guam.

Chief Judge Alex R. Munson allowed Cabrera’s temporary release on an unsecured $25,000 bail. The judge imposed a curfew on Cabrera, who shall stay at his residence in Yigo, Guam from 6pm to 6am.

The judge restricted Cabrera on Guam and ordered the defendant not to leave that island unless directed to appear before Saipan’s federal or local courts. He also directed Cabrera to undergo drug testing as part of the conditions for his temporary release.

Cabrera is a co-defendant in the criminal case against Saipan policemen Eric John Tudela Mafnas and Charley K. Patris. The FBI arrested the two policemen at work last Tuesday. The FBI also collared Cabrera on Guam on that day.

Federal authorities believe that the ice being distributed by the defendants was part of locally seized evidence that was stolen from the custody of the CNMI Department of Public Safety.

The FBI tagged Mafnas as the organizer and leader of the criminal activity, accusing the policeman of stealing from the DPS evidence room some 46 grams of ice sometime on May 13, 2003.

A 15-page indictment filed by federal prosecutor Patrick Smith accused the policemen of seriously abusing their position to steal money and illegal drugs from DPS custody several times.

The indictment charged Mafnas and Patris with conspiracy to commit theft, perjury and to make false statements, as well as theft concerning programs receiving federal funds. Smith accused the policemen of embezzling properties valued at over $5,000 from April 2002 through December 2003, which were in the custody of the DPS, an agency that receives more than $10,000 in federal funds annually.

Smith also charged the two policemen and Cabrera with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute at least five grams of ice sometime in 2003. He separately charged Mafnas with possession with intent to distribute approximately 46 grams of ice, which the policeman allegedly stole from the DPS.

The indictment also charged Mafnas and Patris with a count each of false statements and perjury for allegedly lying to the FBI and a federal jury in December 2003 that former CNMI assistant attorney general Dan Wolfe had authorized the destruction of the 46 grams of ice Mafnas took from the evidence room. Mafnas claimed to have burned the ice, while Patris claimed witnessing it.

The two policemen have also denied the charges. The court allowed the policemen’s temporary release on unsecured bonds after their arraignment last Tuesday.