SUPERIOR Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho has ordered Shanguo Zhang to pay a $250 fine and perform 40 hours of community service.
Zhang, 44, was charged with vandalism and disturbing the peace after being arrested for breaking the ports police office window on June 15, 2021.
After a bench trial in October, Judge Camacho found Zhang guilty of vandalism, but did not find him guilty of disturbing the peace.
In his sentencing and commitment order on Wednesday, the judge noted that vandalism does not have any jail sentence.
But Zhang also violated his probation in a previous case for which he pled guilty to spray-painting a police K-9 vehicle parked at the Department of Public Safety central office.
In that case, the judge, in October 2021, imposed a sentence of three months on Zhang who was remanded to the custody of the CNMI Court Marshals so he could be transported to the Department of Corrections to start serving his sentence.
On Wednesday, the judge noted that Zhang “still has two months of probation” in that case, and “is still under the supervision of the Office of Adult Probation, which can monitor Defendant in an overall sense.”
According to court documents, on June 15, 2021, Zhang, who was at the Saipan International Airport, was told by a ports police officer to use a face mask as required by the Covid-19 safety protocols.
Zhang then picked up a rock and threw it at the window of the ports police office. The window was damaged, and Zhang was arrested.
At the time, Zhang was still on probation and was required to obey all CNMI and federal laws.
Zhang was represented by Assistant Public Defender Vena Seelam while Brandon Doggett served as Zhang’s interpreter.
Assistant Attorney General Steven Kessel appeared for the government.
Zhang, a homeless person, is a citizen of the People’s Republic of China. He had been holding a daily protest action against the Chinese Communist Party across from the judicial building in Susupe.
Based on the presentence investigation report, Zhang arrived on Saipan on Dec. 12, 2018, on a tourist visa. There is a pending U.S. Immigration Court case against him.
He is “waiting for a hearing date to determine his status whether he will remain in the United States…(CNMI) or be removed,” Judge Camacho stated.
