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Court turns down statement as testimony
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Posted on Mar 31 2005
The Superior Court denied yesterday the request of the Attorney General’s Office to admit a woman’s statement to police as her testimony in a criminal case that accuses a Fish and Wildlife conservation officer of threatening her with a gun.
The woman, You Di Weng, had left the CNMI since Dec. 7, 2004, before DFW’s Luciano Rangamar could face trial on charges of assault with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery and disturbing the peace.
Associate judge David Wiseman ruled that Weng’s statement to police officer Daniel Quitugua after the Christmas Day incident in 2003 could not be admitted as evidence, saying that it is testimonial in nature.
When Quitugua responded to the scene, the woman allegedly told her that Rangamar poked his gun at her head. The officer recovered the gun from Rangamar’s vehicle.
“The court cannot introduce her statements without allowing the defendant an opportunity to cross-examine the statements. Allowing the admission of Weng’s statements would deny the defendant his Sixth Amendment right to personally confront and cross-examine the person who knowingly accused him of a crime,” Wiseman said.
Wiseman noted that the government could have prohibited Weng’s departure from the CNMI due to her material witness status, but the AGO did not do that. He also noted that the AGO failed to obtain Weng’s testimony through a pre-trial deposition.
The AGO has also charged Rangamar with misuse of government vehicle for allegedly operating the vehicle with license plate 16-92 “for purposes other than official government business.” The vehicle misuse also allegedly happened on Christmas Day, a legal holiday.
