Christopher San Nicolas King, center, is escorted by Corrections officers after a bail hearing in Superior Court on Wednesday afternoon.
AN anonymous tip led to the arrest of Tinian Firefighter Christopher San Nicolas King for methamphetamine possession.
King, 48, appeared at a bail hearing before Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho on Wednesday and was charged with one count of possession of a controlled substance.
King was represented by Assistant Public Defender Emily Thomsen who asked the court to modify her client’s bail and release him to his sister on Tinian as a third-party custodian.
King told the court that he works for the Tinian Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services as a firefighter.
Chief prosecutor Chester Hinds, who appeared for the government, argued against releasing King to his sister, saying that an individual convicted of drug charges is among the members of the sister’s household.
After hearing arguments from both parties, Judge Camacho found the proposed third-party custodian unsuitable and denied the request for bail modification.
The judge maintained the $25,000 cash bail and remanded the defendant to the custody of the Department of Corrections. King was ordered to return to court for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 14 at 10 a.m., and for an arraignment on March 4 at 9 a.m.
Background
According to the complaint against King, on Jan. 28, an anonymous caller informed Tinian DPS about a package containing “ice” that was arriving via Star Marianas. The police were told that the package was for King and was sent by his brother.
On the same day, Tinian DPS, in coordination with Customs Services, confirmed that a package had arrived at the Tinian airport for King.
At approximately 2:58 p.m. King picked up the package at the airport.
At 3:05 p.m., a police vehicle pulled King over. An officer found the package in the back seat of King’s vehicle. During a search, a Customs officer found a crystal-like substance in a Ziploc bag covered with paper towel inside a black pepper container. The substance tested positive for methamphetamine, the complaint stated.
King, in a freely given statement to investigators, admitted that his brother sent the package, and that it contained “ice.”
Police said the package contained one gram of methamphetamine.
King told investigators that he paid $150 and a sinahi necklace for the “ice.” King also provided investigators the name of the Kagman dealer from whom his brother was getting “ice.”
According to the defendant, the transaction was made through phone calls and WhatsApp.
