By Bryan Manabat
[email protected]
Variety News Staff
AUSTINE Gus Taitano Iguel, 33, was arrested Monday after threatening to kill his parents and damaging property at their Tanapag residence, according to a criminal complaint filed in Superior Court.
Iguel is charged with disturbing the peace and assault, both with domestic violence enhancements. At a bail hearing Wednesday, Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho set bail at $5,000. Iguel, who was represented by Assistant Public Defender Emily Thomsen, was remanded to the custody of the Department of Corrections pending further proceedings.
According to the declaration of probable cause, police responded to the residence around 7:40 a.m. on Monday following a report of a disturbance. Iguel’s father told officers that his son arrived angry and began breaking and throwing items inside the home. He said Iguel punched an air conditioning unit and shouted in Chamorro, “I’m going to kill you guys!” before throwing a ceramic vase at him and fleeing into the jungle.
Police returned to the residence later that afternoon after the parents reported that their son had returned. Officers located Iguel inside a nearby home and arrested him without incident.
In a follow-up interview Tuesday, Iguel’s father told investigators he feared for his and his wife’s safety, saying the situation had escalated over the past six years due to his son’s methamphetamine use. He said he suffered a stroke in 2019 and no longer feels safe when Iguel becomes violent.
He also told police there had been about 10 prior altercations, many of which went unreported because Iguel’s girlfriend, who is four months pregnant, would “cover up for him.” He said the couple frequently argued and physically fought.
The complaint also recounts an incident on Jan. 29 in which Iguel damaged his girlfriend’s car windows at a Shell gas station before taking the vehicle and leaving her to walk to Puerto Rico to seek help.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 11 at 10 a.m. Iguel is set to return to court for arraignment on March 2 at 9 a.m.
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.
