Assistant Attorney General Tony DeRuiz filed the motion for dismissal, March 5. Dugan was charged withone count of threatening to kill or attack an internationally protected person.
DeRuiz then resigned from his post yesterday.
Earlier Supreme Court Chief Justice Arthur Ngiraklsong ordered a preliminary hearing on why the court should not dismiss the case filed by the government against Dugan, citing a lack of probable cause.
The hearing was supposed to be scheduled yesterday at 2 p.m. but due to the motions filed, the hearing was postponed.
Ngiraklsong has yet to issue a decision on the matter. Defense attorney also filed a motion in support of the dismissal on March 4.
Deruiz in his motion said that the information that led to the filing of the case was “defective on its face and should be dismissed.”
In a Feb. 22 order, Ngiraklsong said the “affidavit of probable cause is without any shred or intimation of evidence of terrorist conduct. The elements of terrorism offense and terrorist act are expressed in the statute.”
DeRuiz in his motion agreed with Ngiraklsong order, “this is a case of first impression in the Republic of Palau and any reference to terrorism was specifically left out of the information after intensive discussions in the Office and a discussion with a former Olbiil Era Kelulau public servant who remembered the circumstances surrounding the adoption of terrorism act.”
DeRuiz in his motion also said that there was no politics played in the filing of the charges against Dugan.
“There is no basis for the Public Defender to insinuate that the Attorney General’s Office is attempting to destroy the defendant’s credibility,” the motion said.
DeRuiz said that Dugan is “a con man and may be unstable.”
The motion added that the threat against the president is a serious matter and was taken seriously by the OAG.
Dugan is the prime witness in the money laundering case against Senate
President Mlib Tmetuchl and Lucius Malsol, President Toribiong’s brother.
Meanwhile DeRuiz resignation was effective yesterday.
His employment is schedule to end on July 6, 2011.
In his letter he said, “recent changes in the Office have made me feel unable to continue working.”
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