By Bryan Manabat
[email protected]
Variety News Staff
SUPERIOR Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho on Monday granted the Office of the Attorney General’s request to dismiss with prejudice the assault case against Peter Deleon Guerrero and Yichuan Bai.
Deleon Guerrero, 58, and Bai, 40, are two of three defendants charged in connection with an Aug. 25, 2025, incident in Chinatown, where prosecutors allege a tour guide was lured under false pretenses, kidnapped, and assaulted. The third defendant, Hee Jung Hwang, has since been removed from the CNMI by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The defendants were later linked to additional offenses after a search of Hwang’s residence uncovered a stolen firearm, ammunition, and controlled substances.
In a recent motion to dismiss with prejudice, Chief Prosecutor Chester Hinds said it “is in the best interest of justice” to dismiss the case against the defendants, but did not elaborate.
Judge Camacho issued the dismissal order on March 16.
The victim in the case, tour guide Jijing “Jimmy” Borja, has also been ordered removed from the CNMI. Honolulu Immigration Judge Clarence Wagner issued the removal order last month, citing Borja’s prior criminal convictions and his non-U.S. citizen status. Borja’s immigration case is separate from the CNMI criminal proceedings.
Earlier, the parties filed a stipulation requesting that Bai be released from the Department of Corrections and transferred to the custody of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for removal proceedings.
With Borja removed from the jurisdiction, prosecution of the case became more complicated.
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.
