By Bryan Manabat
[email protected]
Variety News Staff
TWO individuals have been charged in separate cases with unlawful discharge of a firearm after the Office of the Attorney General filed criminal informations this week alleging they fired weapons on Saipan without the required permit from the Department of Public Safety.
In one case, prosecutors charged Doveline Donald Andres, 53, with unlawfully discharging a short-barreled AR-15 rifle on Feb. 1, 2026. According to the filing, Andres “unlawfully discharged or set off … a firearm, a short-barreled AR-15 rifle bearing serial number NX071847, without a special written permit from the Department of Public Safety.” The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a $5,000 fine, or both, under 6 CMC § 10301(d).
A penal summons has been issued ordering Andres to appear before Superior Court Presiding Judge Joseph N. Camacho on Aug. 5 at 10 a.m. Failure to appear may result in the issuance of an arrest warrant.
In a separate case, the Commonwealth charged Jelani Sablan Tilipao, 44, with unlawfully discharging a Benelli 12-gauge shotgun on Feb. 22, 2025. The information states that Tilipao discharged the shotgun, bearing serial number Z1002841Y, “without a special written permit from the Department of Public Safety to discharge or set off a firearm.”
As of Monday, no court date had been scheduled for Tilipao’s initial appearance.
Both informations were filed June 23 and signed by Assistant Attorney General Daniel B. Johnson. Neither filing provides additional details about the circumstances surrounding the alleged discharges, and both cases remain pending before the Superior Court.
Bryan Manabat was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College where he also studied criminal justice. He is the recipient of the NMI Humanities Award as an Outstanding Teacher (Non-Classroom) in 2013, and has worked for the CNMI Motheread/Fatheread Literacy Program as lead facilitator.
