Associate Judge Ramona V. Manglona sentenced Michael Jordan Palacios Cabrera to four years imprisonment for his involvement in the 2007 poker robbery, all suspended except for two years with credit for time already served since May 14, 2008.
He will be released no later than May 14, 2010 at 5 p.m.
For his involvement in the burglary case, the defendant is sentenced to five years imprisonment, all suspended except for two years which will run concurrently with his other two-year sentence.
Cabrera will be placed on probation following his release from jail until Jan. 1, 2014 under the supervision of the Office of Adult Probation.
He was ordered to pay a court assessment fee of $100 within 30 days, and an annual probation fee of $100.
He must perform 100 hours of community work service while incarcerated, and shall comply with the rules, requirements and conditions imposed by the Office of Adult Probation.
He must also write a letter of apology to the poker house owner and obey all commonwealth, Federal and State laws.
Manglona set a review hearing for May 26, 2010.
On March 26, 2008, the court sentenced Cabrera to five years imprisonment, all suspended except for 12 months to serve without the possibility of parole after he entered a guilty plea to the crime of conspiracy to commit robbery at a poker establishment in 2007 with three other individuals.
Cabrera was only 18 years old when the robbery incident took place, but he was already 19 when he was sentenced and placed on five-year probation.
Manglona said at that time, the court considered the Cabrera’s youth and no prior criminal history to find his plea terms reasonable despite the nature of his offense.
He was ordered to appear in court for a review hearing two weeks after his release date, but nine days after appearing in court for his first review hearing, and only 23 days after his release from prison, he was involved with another individual in a house burglary.
Manglona said fortunately, the items were quickly recovered from a pawnshop and no injuries were inflicted on anyone.
The defendant was arrested for this crime.
Manglona said while in custody, Cabrera was charged with committing another burglary case which occurred before the April 12, 2007 poker robbery and the burglary cases.
The government moved to revoke his probation in the first case.
Manglona said the defendant has been in custody for over a year since his arrest in the burglary case and has reached a plea agreement to resolve all three cases with the government.
In consideration of the defendant’s plea, the recommended prison term was two years to serve, with credit for the time already served.
Manglona said the court, having reviewed the defendant’s history in these cases and the nature of the charges, believes that the sentence term agreed upon by the parties is too lenient.
“The defendant has shown no respect for the private properties of others or for the law and does not appear to appreciate his liberty and the other assets that he does have,” Manglona said.
She added that the defendant, a U.S. citizen, appears young, healthy and strong and could avail of many benefits that other hardworking people in the CNMI are unable to do so because they are not U.S. citizens.
At the same time, Manglona said the court is concerned that a long prison term would “harden” the defendant.
“The court accepts the defendant’s plea agreement with a clear notice to him of the severe consequences he faces if he violates his condition of probation again,” she said.
