Naraja said he considered three factors when he granted defendant Yuhua Wang’s motion which was filed by Assistant Public Defender Richard Miller.
Last March, Wang, 33, was arrested by the Department of Public Safety’s Drug Enforcement Task Force after a cooperating source purchased “ice” from the defendant.
Wang’s co-defendant Le Xing Chen, also known as “Old Man,” was arrested last April.
Wang is currently out on bail.
The court imposed a $30,000 cash bail on Chen.
Authorities said Wang and Chen were trafficking ”ice” in the Fina Sisu area, near Northern Marianas College, which the defendants have denied.
Naraja said “weighing the…factors favors immediate disclosure of the name and related information of the government informant.”
The government’s informant, Naraja added, “is inextricably and significantly involved” in the alleged crime.
“Not only did the informant notify law enforcement officers of [Wang’s] alleged drug activities, but [the cooperating source] placed a phone call to [the] defendant to set up a drug buy and further carried out the transaction,” the judge added.
Naraja said the second factor was “the close relationship between [Wang’s] likely defenses and the likely testimony of the informant.”
For the third factor, Naraja said although “the government has a legitimate interest in protecting the identity of the informant’s safety from retaliation,” this is outweighed by Wang’s “right to due process and a fair trial.”
The trial will start on Sept. 27, 2010.
“The disclosure date must allow [Wang] to sufficient time to fully prepare for his defense,” Naraja said.
