Millie Reyes Mantanona, 49, is escorted by a corrections officer to a preliminary hearing at the Guma Hustisia on Wednesday, Sept. 18.
SUPERIOR Court Associate Judge Lillian A. Tenorio on Thursday found probable cause to charge Millie Reyes Mantanona, 49, who was accused of smuggling 3 pounds of methamphetamine worth $281,000 from Guam to Saipan.
Judge Tenorio said there is probable cause to believe that the crimes of “Trafficking of Controlled Substance, in violation of 6 CMC § 2141(a)(1), as charged in Counts I and II of the Information, and Illegal Possession of Controlled Substance, in violation of 6 CMC § 2142(a), as charged in Counts III and IV of the Information,” were committed, and that the defendant committed the offenses.
“Defendant is therefore held to answer said charges,” the judge said.
At a preliminary hearing on Sept. 18, Mantanona was represented by Assistant Public Defender Emily Thomsen while Chief Prosecutor Chester Hinds and Assistant Attorney General Daniel Johnson appeared for the government.
Judge Tenorio remanded Mantanona to the custody of the Department of Corrections, and ordered her to return to court on Sept. 23 at 9:30 a.m. for an arraignment before Presiding Judge Roberto C. Naraja.
Mantanona, a 49-year-old resident of Mongmong, Guam, was arrested by the CNMI Drug Enforcement Task Force for carrying 1.03 pounds of methamphetamine in her handbag upon her arrival from Guam at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport on Aug. 30, 2024.
A search warrant signed by Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho executed in Mantanona’s hotel room on Aug. 31, 2024 resulted in the discovery and seizure of an additional two pounds of methamphetamine.
