HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — A report of a burglary to a home in Chalan Pago led to a man being charged with criminal trespass and possession of a Schedule II controlled substance. However, it’s what he told officers with the Guam Police Department that has now become part of a multiagency fight against methamphetamine making its way into the Department of Corrections.
On Saturday, 40-year-old Walvic Dado was back in the custody of Corrections, after being released two days prior. In the short amount of time that he was free, he broke into a home he had been evicted from and, at some point, acquired a bag of methamphetamine.
According to a magistrate’s complaint filed by the Office of the Attorney General, Dado made a statement to police when they arrested him on suspicion of breaking into the home and possessing methamphetamine.
“The (police) report states that, in the process of arresting the defendant for breaking into the house, they located a bag of suspected methamphetamine in his pocket. The defendant denied that the baggie was his and that the last time he had smoked ice was while in prison,” the magistrate’s complaint said.
Dado was arrested previously on Dec. 27, 2022, for violations of pretrial release conditions in a 2021 aggravated assault case, which also included charges of criminal mischief and drug possession. Following a brief stint for the violations, he was “automatically released on Jan. 5, 2023. The very next day he was arrested on the current charges,” court documents state.
The Guam Daily Post reached out to Corrections Maj. Antone Aguon and Attorney General Douglas Moylan after the magistrate hearing on the new charges. Both were unaware at the time of Dado’s case or the assertion he made to police.
While Aguon said he would follow up Monday regarding Dado’s prior confinement, Moylan said, “we are going to work with [Corrections]” to investigate Dado’s claim.
Drug interdiction efforts
Moylan has been working with Corrections Director Robert Camacho to address the issue of contraband, such as methamphetamine, making its way into the correctional facilities, he told the Post.
“Yes, there are drugs [at Corrections]. Yes, I have spoken to Camacho about this issue about two to three weeks ago. We are in the process of trying to implement procedures and different ways that DOC is going to attack how drugs are getting into that facility,” Moylan said.
In the past, part of DOC’s effort to combat drugs was to conduct random drug searches of inmates’ and prisoners’ cells as well as DOC officers and visitors. That has led to a number of cases against inmates, DOC officers and others in the community.
One of the high-profile cases involved the former head of DOC internal affairs and several other DOC officers. According to Post files, in 2017, the DOC officers were part of a drug smuggling ring masterminded by at least one DOC inmate, Shawn Johnson, who also was charged in the case.
Dado’s claims will now be investigated as part of the renewed fight to stop drugs from entering the prison, officials said.
Moylan, who recently assumed the elected AG position, said deterring contraband from entering the correctional facility was not a priority his predecessor pursued strongly. Moylan argued that approach resulted in negative impacts on the rehabilitation of drug offenders who were incarcerated, such as Dado.
Impact of leniency
Moylan referenced two recent cases involving drugs smuggled into the correctional facility during former AG Leevin Camacho’s term, which Moylan said he provided as examples of leniency used in the recent past.
One of the cases involved Wilmelyn Cabrera, who was spared jail time in October 2022, when she took a deal with the government and pleaded guilty to smuggling methamphetamine, tobacco and marijuana in three small packages within a body cavity to an inmate during visitation, according to Post files.
“This is what happens when the AG’s office doesn’t strongly go after the defendants being found bringing contraband, meth, into that facility,” said Moylan. “This is what we are fighting in the AG’s office and I am working with the law enforcement officials including Chief (Stephen) Ignacio at GPD and Chief Camacho at DOC to address (it). … I can’t discuss the specifics of how we are addressing it, but it’s clearly on my radar as one of my priorities.”
Dado confined
Dado was held at DOC, per Office of the AG’s request, for pretrial confinement.
At the magistrate hearing, Assistant Attorney General Basil O’Mallan requested cash bail of $5,000, saying Dado is a danger to the public, is a flight risk and is unlikely to comply with court orders. O’Mallan also stressed the “defendant is contributing to the meth problem plaguing the community.”
The AG also requested that Dado receive treatment through the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners program while in pretrial confinement.
As for the new charges, Dado faces possibly serving five years for third-degree felony possession of a Schedule II controlled substance and one year for misdemeanor criminal trespass. He could face a total of six years jail time if convicted.
The Department of Corrections is seen Nov. 13, 2022, in Mangilao, Guam. A defendant, while being interrogated recently by police, said the last time he smoked meth was while in the custody of Corrections.