By Bryan Manabat
[email protected]
Variety News Staff
THE Department of Public Safety has arrested two men wanted in connection with a January burglary and theft case on Airport Road.
DPS said the case was first reported on Jan. 27 at about 10:29 a.m., when a victim told officers that several items had been stolen from his property. Investigators later reviewed a video circulating on social media showing two individuals loading items into a white Toyota RAV4 on Tun Herman Pan Road near a traffic light. “The victim confirmed that the items depicted in the video were his stolen property,” DPS stated.
Officers located the RAV4, with CNMI license plate ADM 943. The vehicle’s operator told investigators he had picked up two individuals — identified as Jose Ngeskebei and Derek Naog — along with several items covered in cloth. The driver said he transported Ngeskebei to Cell Corea and later dropped both men in the Ironwood area.
On Jan. 29, investigators interviewed Ngeskebei, who admitted he was with the RAV4 operator and Naog on the day of the incident and acknowledged selling a speaker to Cell Corea. DPS later recovered from Cell Corea a Harbinger speaker, which the victim positively identified as stolen property.
CNMI Superior Court Judge Theresa Kim‑Tenorio issued arrest warrants for both men on Feb. 20. Ngeskebei was arrested at his Gualo Rai residence on Feb. 25, while Naog was arrested the same day at Club 88 in Garapan. During a pat‑down search, officers found a small Ziploc bag containing a crystallized substance on Naog, which later tested presumptively positive for methamphetamine.
The RAV4 operator’s name has not been disclosed, nor has he been charged. The vehicle was not impounded. Ngeskebei and Naog were booked and detained at the Department of Corrections.
The case remains under active investigation. DPS is urging anyone with additional information to call (670) 664‑9000 or (670) 664‑9042. Anonymous tips may be submitted to NMI Crime Stoppers at (670) 234‑7272.
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.
