Man cited for contempt

Police charged a man with criminal contempt Thursday for leaving his house when he went to the Tinian office of Senate President Joaquin Adriano despite a court order placing him under house arrest.

Fifty-year-old Ignacio A. Cabrera allegedly violated his bail order that directed him not to have contact with his girlfriend’s two minor daughters. Cabrera is facing separate criminal charges for allegedly molesting one of the girls.

In an affidavit, police detective Melvin Monkeya said he spotted Cabrera leaving his residence Wednesday morning, when he was looking for Lea Mendiola, the girlfriend, and the two kids. The detective followed Cabrera, who drove his car to the senator’s office.

The policeman asked Cabrera for permission to enter his house, to which the latter allegedly consented. Monkeya saw the two kids inside Cabrera’s residence.

Relatedly, police separately charged Mendiola with child neglect and obstruction of justice.

Police detective Charlotte B. Palacios said the Attorney General’s Office sough police assistance to locate Mendiola and her two kids on Tuesday.

Mendiola allegedly told police that the two kids were at the Tinian Dynasty and she was supposed to pick her up at 8pm. Police escorted Mendiola but the kids did not show up.

Later, Mendiola said she would go back to the hotel to look for the kids. After conducting surveillance, police discovered that Mendiola went to Cabrera’s house instead of the hotel.

The following day, she allegedly admitted to police that she and her kids go to Cabrera’s house often and had stayed there overnight for about 15 times despite the “no contact” order on Cabrera.