HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — A father and son accused of assaulting a 17-year-old boy are going to accept a deferred plea from the Office of the Attorney General.
Jeffrey Garcia and his son, Jeremiah Garcia, appeared in the Superior Court of Guam on Thursday afternoon in a case stemming from an alleged attack on a 17-year-old boy in Mangilao on Dec. 1, 2022.
In the hearing before Judge John Terlaje, the Garcias’ attorney, Curtis Van de veld, indicated Jeffrey and Jeremiah Garcia were going to accept a deferred plea agreement from the AG’s office.
A deferred plea typically means defendants will plead guilty and be placed on conditional release, but if defendants do not violate the terms of the plea, the case will be dismissed and expunged from the defendants’ records.
Since Van de veld explained the plea is not yet in writing, Terlaje decided to schedule a change-of-plea hearing to allow the plea to be filed formally with the court.
Jeffrey and Jeremiah Garcia will appear in court on Feb. 23.
Allegations
Jeffrey and Jeremiah Garcia were charged on Dec. 5, 2022, days after a video depicting an alleged attack on a 17-year-old boy went viral on social media.
According to the charging documents, the Guam Police Department received a report that on Dec. 1, a 17-year-old boy and a friend were walking along the roadway near Mamis Street in Mangilao when the father and son began to yell at them and chase them. They allegedly caught up to the 17-year-old, but his friend was able to get away.
The men then allegedly beat the teen for several minutes while he tried to protect himself and did not fight back. The attack left the victim with bruising to his eyes, nose, head and elbow – along with blood on his left ear and a petechial hemorrhage in the right corner of his eye, the magistrate’s complaint stated.
The assault allegedly was prompted by an accusation that the teen had stolen from the men earlier in the day. However, a review of surveillance footage in the area showed that the victim had nothing to do with the theft.
Jeremiah Garcia
Jeffrey Garcia
