In the Jan. 30 foiled attempt to enter Guam, all of the five individuals yesterday denied the charges filed against them by the U.S. government.
U.S. Court for the NMI Designated Judge David Wiseman accepted the plea agreements of Dong Wang, Dongxiang Wang, and Qingxu Wang and sentenced them to one-year probation, which commenced immediately.
After processing with the U.S. Marshals Service, the defendants will be delivered to authorized U.S. immigration official for removal proceedings.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric O’Malley prosecuted the case.
The defendants were represented by court-appointed attorneys Vicente Salas, Mark Scoggins and F. Matthew Smith.
Attorney G. Anthony Long said the information against his client, Jun Li Yong, should be dismissed since “a criminal charge is subject to dismissal when it charges a legal impossibility.”
Alternatively, Long said his client’s right to prepare and present adequate defense and to prepare for effective cross-examination entitles Jun Li Yong to a bill of particulars, discovery, and the identity of each informant and undercover agent.
So far, 19 defendants have signed plea agreements, out of 24 individuals arrested for attempting to enter Guam illegally early last month.
Among the defendants is Gov. Benigno R. Fitial’s masseuse Qingmei Cheng who is facing 22 counts of attempting to bring aliens into the United States.
Her jury trial is scheduled to start on Feb. 22.
She and the rest of the defendants remain incarcerated at the Department of Corrections facility.
Not guilty
In the other case, Wiseman continued for today the bail hearing for Shixu Huang, Lihua Yi, Jingfan Zhang, Pingping Zhang, and Zhanshan Zhang as moved by their court-appointed lawyers.
After accepting their not guilty pleas, Wiseman denied them bail and remanded the defendants to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
The defendants are represented by their court-appointed attorneys Robert O’Connor, Bruce Berline, Michael Dotts, Mark Hanson, and Anthony Long.
The court set the federal jury trial for April 12, 2010, while pretrial motions are to be submitted by March 12, 2010.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Schuler is the prosecutor.
