Naraja delays anew Elyeisar plea hearing

Superior Court Presiding Judge Robert C. Naraja postponed again yesterday the change of plea hearing for Akilino P. Elyeisar, who is facing charges for the death of his live-in partner as a result of a domestic violence.

Naraja set the change of plea hearing for Jan. 31, 2006 at 9am.

The judge agreed to the re-scheduling of the hearing following a request by the Attorney General’s Office. The AGO made the oral request in the judge’s chamber, Saipan Tribune learned.

Assistant public defender Douglas Hartig, counsel for Elyeisar, objected to the second postponement of the proceeding.

The Saipan Tribune repeatedly tried to reach Chief Prosecutor Jeffrey Moots in his office yesterday, but he was not available for comment.

Hartig refused to comment, saying, “It’s a pending case.”

On Wednesday Moots said the AGO is standing pat on its decision to enter into a plea agreement with Elyeisar.

Moots said that, if Naraja rejects the plea agreement, then they would reconsider their options.

The chief prosecutor said they understand the disappointment of the family and relatives of the victim Vickyann Maratita Igitol over the government’s decision in reaching the plea bargain.

“We just want to ensure there will be a conviction. That’s important,” he said.

The original change of plea hearing was scheduled last Tuesday, but the family of the victim objected to the proposed jail term, which they consider “very unfair.”

The objections, prompted Naraja to continue the change of plea hearing to yesterday.

A family member of Igitol wrote to the media on Thursday, seeking support from members of the community who are “concerned about domestic violence.”

The family member urged people to show up at the hearing and call anyone “who can have an impact on the outcome of this case.”

“We need to give Vickyann a voice,” the letter sender said.

However, family members and relatives of the victim, as well as known crusaders against domestic violence, did not show up in court yesterday.

An active member of domestic violence task force told the Saipan Tribune that the family members did not appear because the AGO already contacted them on Thursday night that they would seek another postponement.

“The recommended sentence that has been brokered in this deal is 22 months with time served, which means that the suspect will basically walk two months from now. This is an injustice and is simply unacceptable! Is this the value our government places on a woman’s life? Twenty-two months for murder?” the family member stressed.

Alice Igitol, mother of the victim, told the Saipan Tribune outside the courtroom on Tuesday that Moots and assistant attorney general Kevin Lynch are not doing their job.

“They just want to get rid of this case,” Alice Igitol said.

Under the agreement, Elyeisar would plead guilty to aggravated assault and battery. The government would recommend a jail term of 22 months, with credit for the time the defendant has already spent in jail.

Elyeisar has been in jail for about 20 months. After his release, the defendant would then be deported to Chuuk as part of the agreement.

The victim’s father, former Carolinian Affairs director Victorino Igitol, said the plea agreement is unfair.

But Moots said it is understandable for the family to be angry with him and Lynch because they lost their daughter and the AGO sympathizes with the family.

Moots underscored the need to enter the plea agreement as he cited that the problem is whether or not their evidence is permissible or admissible in court.

Court records show that police responded to a residence in Kagman on May 13, 2004, based on a call of a neighbor who suspected a domestic violence incident.

But Vickyann Igitol told responding police she just fell from a stool while she was trying to reach something from the top of their cabinet.

A few days later, however, Vickyann Igitol reportedly confided to her father what really happened. The victim’s body from the neck down was paralyzed until she died of complications a few weeks later.

Guam chief medical examiner Dr. Aurelio Espinola concluded in his autopsy report that the victim’s death was a homicide and not due to an accident from a fall.