KAGMAN resident Nicholas Yarolfalchuw has asked the federal court to issue a judgment in his favor in his complaint against a police sergeant and a police officer of the Department of Public Safety for unlawful arrest.
Yarolfalchuw, through attorney Joseph Horey, is requesting the court to grant summary judgment.
According to Horey, “The undisputed facts of this matter show that defendants, under color of CNMI law,” arrested his client, “at his home for a misdemeanor, with neither a warrant nor exigent circumstances preventing them from getting one.”
Horey said defendants’ own reports, filed with their answers to the complaint showed there is no genuine issue as to any of the following material facts:
1) Defendants arrested Plaintiff; 2) they did so at Plaintiff’s home; 3) they did so without a warrant; 4) they did so without exigent circumstances; and 5) they did so under color of Commonwealth law.
“Since the arrest of a person at home, under color of law but without a warrant and without exigent circumstances, is an unconstitutional unreasonable seizure and an actionable violation of civil rights, Plaintiff is entitled to judgment in his favor and against defendants as a matter of law,” Horey said.
Police Sgt. John Cabrera and Police Officer Daniel Fitial were named as defendants in the lawsuit.
For their part, the defendants said there was probable cause to arrest Yarolfalchuw.
Yarolfalchuw in his lawsuit alleged deprivation of civil rights and has asked the District Court for the NMI to issue an order awarding him an unspecified amount of damages.
According to the lawsuit, on May 10, 2021, at approximately 5 p.m. Yarolfalchuw was sitting in a pavilion within the premises where he resided, talking with relatives, when Cabrera arrived, entered the premises, and parked his vehicle beside the pavilion.
After a short discussion, the plaintiff advised Cabrera that he was trespassing, and instructed him to depart.
“Cabrera did not depart, and instead used his [police] vehicle to block the driveway constituting the entrance to the premises,” the complaint stated.
Fitial then arrived at the premises in another vehicle.
Under the direction of Cabrera, Fitial ordered the plaintiff to place his hands behind his back.
Fitial then placed the plaintiff in handcuffs and ordered the plaintiff to get into Fitial’s vehicle.
Fitial drove the plaintiff to DPS headquarters where the plaintiff was held in custody for the rest of the day and the following night, until he was released at about 4 p.m. the following day.
“At no time did defendants, or either of them, have any warrant for either the search of the premises or the arrest of plaintiff,” the complaint stated.
Cabrera, through Assistant Attorney General Leslie Healer, and Fitial, through AAG Keisha Blaise, have denied the allegations.
Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona has scheduled a summary judgment hearing for June 10 at 1:30 p.m.
Blaise, however, has asked the court to reschedule the hearing for a later date.
Nicholas Yarolfalchuw
