SUPERIOR Court Associate Judge Wesley Bogdan has denied the request of Jashlie Nicole Camacho Reyes to dismiss the drug charges against her that involved the importation of 62 grams of methamphetamine or ice through the United States Postal Service.
Reyes, through her attorney, Joe W. McDoulett, has asked the court to dismiss all counts in the information filed against her by the CNMI government.
McDoulett said the information failed to contain a written statement of essential facts constituting the offense charges as required by criminal procedure.
According to the CNMI government, Reyes imported “ice” from California to Saipan through the U.S. Postal Service.
She was charged with importation of contraband and trafficking of a controlled substance.
In his order, Judge Bogdan stated that the information filed against Reyes “is not defective nor does it require a bill of particulars in order for the defendant to prepare her defense.”
“Both of the counts are sufficient in this court’s review and contain the essential facts of the offenses charged and meet the additional requirements set out in the rule,” the judge added. “The information also cites to the applicable statutory law and describes the nature of the offenses, including the date and location of the alleged offense and the type of controlled substance at issue.”
The judge said while the defendant’s “observant arguments and…conceptual challenges to the Commonwealth’s theories of culpability and burdens of proof are certainly real, they are questions for the jury, not this court, to decide.”
“A court can only resolve legal issues prior to trial,” the judge added.
“The ultimate burden of proof on the Commonwealth to convict defendant of the crimes charged may, as defense counsel points out,…be difficult to meet. That does not, however, mean the Commonwealth has improperly brought this case against defendant under the circumstances of this case or that the charges should be dismissed at this stage,” the judge said.
