By Bryan Manabat
[email protected]
Variety News Staff
THE CNMI Supreme Court has taken under advisement the Office of the Attorney General’s appeal seeking to reinstate a felony assault charge against suspended Department of Public Safety officer Troy Anthony Taman Manahane following oral arguments held Friday before Chief Justice Alexandro Castro, Associate Justice John Manglona, and Justice Pro Tem Teresa Kim-Tenorio.
Chief Solicitor Robby Glass Jr. argued that the Superior Court erred in dismissing CR 25-0011 and finding prosecutorial bad faith. He urged the justices to vacate the ruling and hold that the Commonwealth is not required to present new evidence to refile a charge dismissed at a preliminary hearing for lack of probable cause.
Attorney Robert T. Torres, representing Manahane, countered that the Superior Court correctly dismissed the refiled information because prosecutors ignored the October 2024 order finding no probable cause for Assault with a Dangerous Weapon in the original case, CR 24-0097. Torres argued that the Commonwealth attempted to “forum shop” by filing the same charge “word for word” in January 2025 without new evidence, reconsideration, or an appeal.
“Our argument is simply that there was no error by the Superior Court,” Torres said after the hearing. “If the Commonwealth had new or additional evidence, it could have filed a supplemental affidavit and requested another preliminary hearing. Instead, it disregarded the process that protects our citizens’ due process rights.”
The justices said the matter is under advisement and that a written decision will be issued.
Case background
On Dec. 19, 2025, then-Judge Joseph N. Camacho dismissed the refiled felony assault charge against Manahane, ruling that prosecutors improperly revived an offense that had already been dismissed following a preliminary hearing.
The original case stemmed from a January 2024 domestic violence response in Susupe, where Manahane unholstered his firearm while a suspect sat handcuffed in a police vehicle. The court found no probable cause for assault, concluding that Manahane’s question — “What would you do if my partner shot you?” — did not constitute a threat.
Prosecutors refiled the same charge in January 2025 despite acknowledging that they had no new evidence. Former Judge Camacho found that the refiling “ignored and circumvented” the earlier order and dismissed the case.
A misdemeanor disturbing the peace charge from the original case remains pending. Manahane remains on indefinite suspension.
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.
