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REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK
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Posted on Aug 11 2008
When the handcuffed Lt. Gov. Timothy Villagomez was brought inside the courtroom, many family members could be seen wiping away tears. Villagomez’s brother, Public Health Secretary Joseph Kevin Villagomez, was visibly emotional, his eyes red with tears.
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Lt. Gov. Villagomez was wearing a white long-sleeve and a black or dark blue slacks. His lawyer, Guam’s famous David J. Lujan, was wearing similar clothes. The lieutenant governor has two other lawyers—Brien Sers Nicholas and Joey San Nicolas.
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After the hearing, a court marshal again handcuffed the lieutenant governor and brought him outside the courtroom for processing. U.S. District Court for the NMI designated judge David A. Wiseman explained to the Villagomez family members and friends who were in the courtroom that handcuffing a defendant is part of the U.S. Marshal’s procedures.
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Attorney General Matthew Gregory and former Public Auditor Mike Sablan came at the same time to the courtroom. Gregory sat near Lt. Governor Villagomez, but later transferred to another bench. The hearing started at 1:05pm. Many people, mostly family members and friends of the Villagomez clan, watched the proceeding, but it was not enough to fill the wide courtroom.
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Local journalists patiently waited for Lt. Gov. Villagomez outside the Horiguchi Building after the hearing. Villagomez, however, did not say a word to the media as family members quickly escorted him to a waiting vehicle. A journalist remembered the media’s coverage in the Kazuyoshi Miura’s case at the Superior Court. The journalist noted that the only difference is that the local media practitioners are fewer and they didn’t push each other.
