(DPS) — On Jan. 24, 2023 at about 8:28 a.m., the Department of Public Safety received a call for a reported burglary and theft incident at a residence in As Lito, Saipan.
Uniformed officers were dispatched to the scene where they met with the home caretaker and were informed that the home had been burglarized.
Through the course of investigation, detectives from the Criminal Investigation Bureau identified a vehicle of interest, a green mini van, bearing the CNMI license plate ACZ-426. On Feb. 8, 2023 this same vehicle was pulled over on a traffic stop and later impounded, processed and inventoried by authorities. The operator of this vehicle was identified as Mark S. Benavente.
On Feb. 21, 2023, at about 11:30 a.m. the victim arrived at CIB, where she positively identified some contents within the same mini van as her personal belongings.
On Feb. 22, 2023, at about 2:15 p.m., Judge Wesley Bogdan signed and issued a search warrant for Benavente’s apartment unit at A&M Apartments in Chalan Kanoa.
On the same date, at about 3:15 p.m., authorities from the CIB, executed and served the search warrant to Benavente and his girlfriend, Josephine Pangelinan. During the search of their apartment, authorities discovered items, later identified by the victim as additional belongings taken from the residence.
On Feb. 28, 2023 at about 4:57 p.m., CIB authorities, pursuant to an arrest warrant, arrested Benavente and Pangelinan without incident outside an establishment in Finasisu Village. Judge Bogdan signed the arrest warrant, with bail set at $10,000 each.
If you have any information on any burglary & theft incidents, or if you have any knowledge of the whereabouts of any items mentioned in previous press releases, please call 911. If you wish to remain anonymous, please call the CNMI Crime Stoppers hotline at (670) 234-7272. Crime Stoppers pays up to $1,000 for any information leading to an arrest.
Josephine Pangelinan & Mark Benavente
