{"id":407991,"date":"2024-04-03T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-03T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=407991"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-29T14:00:00","slug":"Villanueva-pleads-not-guilty-to-contempt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/Villanueva-pleads-not-guilty-to-contempt\/","title":{"rendered":"Villanueva pleads not guilty to contempt"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shayne Blanco Villanueva has pleaded not guilty to the contempt charge filed against him by the Office of the Attorney General for refusing to answer questions during a legislative investigation on the previous administration\u2019s Building Optimism, Opportunity, and Stability Together grant program.<\/p>\n

Yesterday, after nearly an hour of arguments, Villanueva pleaded not guilty before Superior Court Presiding Judge Roberto Naraja to the contempt charge filed against him by the OAG pursuant to his failure to answer BOOST-related questions.<\/p>\n

Villanueva\u2019s lawyer, Keith Chambers, initially argued that his client could not enter a plea as he is entitled to a preliminary hearing to determine if there was probable cause to charge Villanueva with contempt.<\/p>\n

In addition, Chambers claimed that the information filed against his client was defective and omitted information.<\/p>\n

However, Naraja denied the motion stating that if a judge had already signed the warrant for Villanueva\u2019s arrest, probable cause had already been determined. This prompted the defense to enter a plea of not guilty.<\/p>\n

After the hearing, Chambers and Villanueva refused to comment while assistant attorney general James Kingman said he appreciated the judge\u2019s decision not to postpone the arraignment.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the last minute, the defense filed a motion trying to push the arraignment off and the judge was not inclined to do so, which I appreciate. There are procedures to these things, and I certainly hope that everyone follows them appropriately otherwise we\u2019re just going to continue to see delays,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The contempt charge filed against Villanueva came after he refused to answer the questions of the House Special Committee Federal Assistance & Disaster-Related Funding that is investigating the federally-funded Building Optimism, Opportunities and Stability Together or BOOST program of the previous administration. Villanueva appeared before the committee on March 5, 2024, and invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when asked questions about BOOST.<\/p>\n

Villanueva is the owner of Roil Soil Marketing, which the administration of then-governor Ralph DLG Torres contracted to help market and promote the $17-million BOOST program in 2022.<\/p>\n

According to the House committee that\u2019s investigating the BOOST program, the documents it gathered indicated that Villanueva was paid by the previous administration $215,000 \u201cat the very least,\u201d for marketing the program.<\/p>\n

After refusing to respond to the committee\u2019s questions, the committee found him in contempt, and Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez (Ind-Saipan) transmitted to Attorney General Edward Manibusan a \u201ccertification of statement of contempt\u201d pertaining to Villanueva.<\/p>\n

The speaker cited 1 CMC Section 1306(a), which states that \u201ca person shall be in contempt if the person\u2026having appeared fails or refuses to testify under oath or affirmation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cVillanueva is clearly in contempt as he has refused to answer any questions posed by the committee regardless of the question\u2019s incriminatory nature. Consequently, the committee, by majority vote of its members, determined that his actions established contempt and moved to report this fact to the House of Representatives on March 5, 2024, by a unanimous vote,\u201d the speaker said.<\/p>\n

Last March 22, Villanueva self-surrendered to the Department of Corrections pursuant to a Superior Court issued arrest warrant dated March 11. He bailed himself out soon after.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Shayne Villanueva and his lawyer, Keith Chambers, as they leave Superior Court Presiding Judge Robert Naraja\u2019s courtroom in this file photo.<\/p>\n

-KIMBERLY B. ESMORES
<\/figcaption><\/figure>

<\/p>\n

Assistant Attorney General James Kingman<\/p>\n

-KIMBERLY B. ESMORES
<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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