By Bryan Manabat
bryan@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
MELVIN Castro, 33, has been arrested and charged with robbery after snatching an elderly woman’s wallet near an ATM in Chalan Piao on Nov. 27.
Robbery is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, or both.
At a bail hearing before Superior Court Judge Joseph N. Camacho, Castro was represented by Assistant Public Defender Molly Dennert, while Assistant Attorney General Heather Barcinas appeared for the government.
Judge Camacho set bail at $10,000 cash.
Castro was remanded to the Department of Corrections and was ordered to return to court on Dec. 10 at 10:30 a.m. for a preliminary hearing and on Dec. 15 at 9 a.m. for arraignment.
According to the complaint, a male witness saw Castro grab the woman’s wallet and walk away. At first, the witness thought it was a mother-and-son dispute until the woman screamed for help. The witness confronted Castro, who refused to return the wallet. When police arrived, Castro handed the wallet back to the victim.
The victim told police her wallet, valued at $150, contained a Bank of Guam debit card with $1,500 and her manamko’ card.
Bryan Manabat was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College where he also studied criminal justice. He is the recipient of the NMI Humanities Award as an Outstanding Teacher (Non-Classroom) in 2013, and has worked for the CNMI Motheread/Fatheread Literacy Program as lead facilitator.
