POLICE Officer Zsazsa Manahane, 35, did not leave her service firearm at a residence, according to her attorney Joey San Nicolas in a motion to dismiss the case against her.
“Ms. Manahane is not alleged to have left her DPS firearm at her residence, in a vehicle on private property, or at a place of business within the Commonwealth. She is accused of unlawfully storing her DPS firearm at a residence when she unintentionally left her firearm within a DPS vehicle, arguably secured within the Highway Patrol motor pool on the government premises of the CNMI Department of Public Safety,” San Nicolas said.
He said his client did not violate 6 CMC § 10204 (a) because the statute does not apply to her alleged conduct.
According to the information filed by the Office of the Attorney General, on or about July 5, 2024, Manahane “did unlawfully keep a firearm within a residence, a place of business, or on private land, and the firearm was not stored in a locked container or disabled with a trigger lock, and the firearm is under the immediate control of a person who is a law enforcement officer, to wit: defendant failed to secure a firearm identified as black Glock 19Gen5 Pistol with serial No. BXYD914, in a locked container with a trigger lock within a residence, in violation of 6 CMC 10204(a) and made punishable by 6 CMC 10204(b).”
In his motion to dismiss, San Nicolas stated that Manahane is a police detective at DPS.
“As an officer she was assigned a 9 mm Glock 19. On July 4, 2024, Detective Manahane was assigned to work at the Liberation Grounds at the Garapan Fishing Base. Her shift started at 1 p.m. and ended at 12 a.m. the following day. At around 11 p.m. Detective Manahane drove a DPS all-terrain utility vehicle, known as a John Deere Gator, back to the DPS station in Susupe and parked it within the Highway Safety motor pool. On the afternoon of July 5th, Officer Rhonda John found Detective Manahane’s DPS issued firearm within Ms. Manahane’s assigned Gator inside of the motor pool at DPS. On August 29, 2024, the Commonwealth charged Ms. Manahane with one count of Storage of a Firearm, in violation of 6 CMC § 10204 (a),” San Nicolas said.
“Specifically,” he added, “the Information charged Ms. Manahane with failing to secure her firearm ‘within a residence.’ ”
San Nicolas asked the court to dismiss the charge with prejudice “because the law does not by its terms apply to Ms. Manahane’s alleged conduct and because of the rule of lenity,” which is a legal principle that requires courts to interpret ambiguous criminal laws in favor of the defendant.
Following the defense motion to dismiss, the Office of the Attorney General-Criminal Division, through Chief Prosecutor Chester Hinds, requested the court to dismiss the case without prejudice.
“After further review of the case and the statute, the Commonwealth cannot, at this time, prove that defendant violated 6 CMC 10204(a),” Hinds said in his motion to dismiss the charge.
“Therefore, for good cause, the Commonwealth believes it is in the interest of justice to dismiss this case without prejudice,” he added.
Superior Court Judge Teresa Kim-Tenorio on Jan. 31 granted the motion to dismiss without prejudice, which means the case can be re-filed.