In a four-page decision, Associate Judge Ramona V. Manglona said Jun Li Wei’s absence from the CNMI for five years does not indicate likelihood that he will appear and seek relief from the court.
On Oct. 7, 2008, the defendant failed to appear in court but was represented by his counsel, Assistant Public Defender Douglas Hartig. The government was represented by Assistant Attorney General Jeffery Warfield, Sr.
Court records show that the defendant was charged with assault and battery, and disturbing the peace of a woman on Sept. 8. 2002.
He appeared in court the following day for a bail hearing.
He was released on bail set at 10 percent of the sum of $1,500 and with conditions including returning to court whenever required to do so.
On Oct. 2002, the defendant requested that his passport be released and that he be allowed to go home to China to take care of his ailing father.
The court required him to post an additional $2,000 cash bail and submit additional documentation, including a signed waiver of extradition.
The court released the defendant’s passport on Nov. 25, 2002. He appeared for a status conference on Feb. 10, 2003 and both parties stipulated to release his $2,000 cash bond on March 5, 2003.
The defendant did not appear for his March 31 and April 7 hearings. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest on April 7 with a cash bail of $2,000.
On June 25, 2003, only the defendant’s counsel appeared for the hearing.
The court said it would forfeit the $150 bail posted by the defendant for failure to appear in court, which was opposed by the defendant’s counsel on the grounds that the defendant was entitled to prior written notice and an evidentiary hearing.
In her judgment, Manglona said the Rules of Criminal Procedure state that “if there is a breach of condition of a bond, the court shall declare a forfeiture of the bail.”
The judgment added that to enforce the forfeiture, “the court shall on motion enter a judgment of default and execution may issue thereon.”
The court stated that in this case, the defendant breached his condition of bail by failing to appear for a court proceeding.
The government also found that the defendant left the CNMI in 2003 and has never returned in the past five years, based on commonwealth immigration records.
