The U.S. District Court yesterday placed a man on three years of probation and fined him $500 for threatening a couple in a letter.<\/p>\n
The court had convicted Crisanto T. Balolong of transmitting a threatening letter, an offense that entails a maximum prison term of five years.<\/p>\n
Balolong pleaded guilty to the charge in a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office last year, expressing remorse for what he did.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors charged Balolong for threatening Efren and Filomena Francisco by sending them newspaper cutouts that claimed his alleged membership to the New People\u2019s Army, a communist guerilla group in the Philippines.<\/p>\n
Balolong said he was drunk when he thought of sending the communication to the Franciscos, telling the court that he is not a member of the NPA.<\/p>\n
Chief Judge Alex R. Munson favored the request of Balolong\u2019s lawyer, G. Anthony Long, to place the defendant on probation, instead of sending him to prison.<\/p>\n
Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Moran had asked the court to include 30 days of imprisonment in Balolong\u2019s sentence and to place the defendant on home confinement eventually.<\/p>\n
The judge, however, ordered Balolong not to have contact with the Franciscos. He also ordered that the matter be referred to CNMI and federal immigration for investigation.<\/p>\n
Long objected to the portion of the sentence directing the matter to the CNMI immigration. Munson gave Balolong 10 days to appeal his sentence. (John Ravelo)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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