HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — A man who pleaded guilty to smuggling meth into the Department of Corrections will spend about another year in prison.
Michael Joseph Salas appeared in the Superior Court of Guam on Monday afternoon to be sentenced for promotion of major prison contraband as a second-degree felony.
The charge stems from a September 2020 allegation, when authorities found meth hidden inside a lotion bottle. According to Post files, Salas, who was an inmate at the time, along with Mike Alex Muna Gumataotao, a corrections officer, Davina Rae Aguon and Francisco Pangelinan Garrido Jr. were charged in connection to the discovered contraband.
Salas pleaded guilty to the charge in April and since then has honored the agreement with the government by cooperating in the larger case.
The sentencing was also expedited because of Salas’ desire to enroll in a resident substance abuse treatment program, which cannot be done until the case is resolved.
Judge Maria Cenzon, after confirming the cooperation with the prosecution, sentenced Salas to five years, with all but three suspended along with credit for time served.
With Salas being confined since July 2020, he will only be in prison for a little less than a year.
According to Post files, Salas was confined at Corrections when Aguon and Garrido were accused of speaking with an inmate through the prison’s PayTel phone system to plan the alleged contraband scheme. Officer Gumataotao allegedly met up with Aguon to pick up the items and bring the contraband with him to the Adult Correctional Facility in Mangilao.
Michael Joseph Salas
