Aguilar’s parole request denied

The Superior Court denied the request of convicted murderer Larry Banal Aguilar to make him eligible for parole in connection with the 50-year prison term that has been imposed on him.

Associate judge Ramona Manglona junked the request of Aguilar for parole eligibility partly to enable him to pay restitution to the family of his victim, Leonor Salunga Miranda.

Without parole, the 38-year-old Aguilar could only be released from incarceration when he reaches 88, when he is no longer capable to accept employment. Chief public defender Masood Karimipour also said that parole eligibility would still require Aguilar to serve at least 16 years and four months in prison before applying for it.

But Manglona declared the restitution argument as moot after ordering that Aguilar would pay no restitution to the victim’s family.

“Based on the Commonwealth’s failure to provide any evidence to substantiate the previously claimed $14,963, this court entered an order of zero dollars for restitution,” Manglona said in an order.

“In deciding to deny him the possibility of parole, the court also spares the young girl and all those who witnessed his act and the injuries Ms. Miranda sustained from having to re-live the nightmare,” the judge said.

Manglona believes that the 50-year prison term she imposed on Aguilar would deter others from committing heinous crimes.

The sentence imposed on Aguilar is the longest prison term ever imposed by a CNMI court in a domestic violence case. Aguilar had pleaded guilty to first-degree murder for killing Miranda, his girldfriend, last July 14, 2003.

Aguilar attacked Miranda with an air pistol and a machete. He shot the woman in the head and hacked her several times, which nearly amputated her one hand. Miranda’s underaged daughter witnessed the brutal killing.