RAINEIR Relado Deleon Guerrero, a former Department of Corrections officer, will be sentenced by the federal court on August 18 at 1:30 p.m. after he pled guilty to receiving a bribe by a public official, and conspiracy to bribe a public official.
At the change of plea hearing on Monday, Deleon Guerrero was represented by attorney Bruce Berline, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Albert Flores Jr. appeared for the federal government.
Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the District Court for the NMI found that the defendant was fully competent to enter a knowing, voluntary and intelligent plea.
She accepted Deleon Guerrero’s plea of guilty, vacated the jury trial and ordered the plea agreement to be unsealed.
Deleon Guerrero remained released.
According to the prosecution, he received methamphetamine and $500 cash in exchange for smuggling a cell phone to prison.
Deleon Guerrero’s co-defendants, Shou Qiu, a federal inmate who is also known as Ike, and Jiang Guang Zhang, also known as Fat Brother, have also pled guilty to bribing a public official, and conspiracy to bribe a public official.
In another federal case, Qiu likewise pled guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance (methamphetamine), and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
For that case, Qiu will be sentenced on July 14, 2023, at 9 a.m.
In CNMI Superior Court, Zhang was charged with two counts of trafficking, and two counts of possession of a controlled substance. The case is still pending.
Qiu is represented by attorney Robert T. Torres while Zhang is represented by attorney Joey McDoulett.
