By Bryan Manabat
[email protected]
Variety News Staff
LIEUTENANT Gov. Dennis James Camacho Mendiola is now facing a second active criminal case after the Office of the Attorney General filed an eight-count information accusing him of theft, misconduct in public office, and misuse of public funds tied to the alleged unlawful use of rental vehicles during his tenure at Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
The new filing, submitted June 4 by Assistant Attorney General Olga Kelley in Superior Court, alleges that Mendiola unlawfully took, transferred or rented vehicles belonging to Li’s Limited Corp., doing business as U Save Car Plus.
The prosecution said Mendiola, then serving as special assistant for Homeland Security, transferred a 2010 Toyota 4Runner from Homeland Security to the Commonwealth Ports Authority “without consent and agreement of Li’s Limited Corporation,” an act charged as both theft and misconduct in public office. The information further alleges that Mendiola misused public funds by authorizing the transfer of the same vehicle despite knowing the action was not permitted by law, causing a reported loss of $35,250 to the Commonwealth.
The filing expands the scope of the allegations by asserting that between May and December 2022, Mendiola rented 66 vehicles from U Save Car Plus without making any payments, resulting in an outstanding government debt of $260,990. Each count is charged as a felony and carries a mandatory 10-year ban on government employment upon conviction under 1 CMC § 7851.
The new charges come as Mendiola continues to face a separate criminal case that has undergone multiple revisions since it was first filed in 2025. The original version of that case named Mendiola, Homeland Security Special Assistant Joey Dela Cruz, and DFEMS Lt. Justin Paul Mizutani as co-defendants. That initial complaint alleged that the three men rented vehicles from U Save Car Plus, failed to pay for them, and transported some vehicles aboard government-chartered vessels without authorization. These allegations formed the basis of what later became the refiled case.
In January 2026, then Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho dismissed the original case without prejudice after prosecutors failed to comply with a court order requiring a bill of particulars. Instead of filing the required document, the OAG submitted an amended information expanding the charges, a move the court rejected. On Feb. 3, 2026, the OAG refiled the case as CR 26-0012-CR, this time naming only Mendiola and Mizutani as defendants and reducing the case to 13 counts. The allegations continued to involve unauthorized vehicle rentals, unpaid fees, and improper transport aboard government vessels.
Mendiola and Mizutani pleaded not guilty during their March 9 arraignment before then-Presiding Judge Roberto C. Naraja. A status hearing was held May 14 before Associate Judge Kenneth L. Govendo.
The Superior Court has also issued a penal summons for Mendiola to appear before Presiding Judge Joseph N. Camacho in courtroom 220A on July 1 at 10 a.m.
The earlier case remains active.
Although filed separately, the two cases share overlapping time periods, similar allegations involving rental vehicles, the same rental car company, and the same prosecutor. The new case significantly expands the alleged financial impact, citing more than $296,000 in losses tied to unpaid rentals and unauthorized transfers.
No hearing has been scheduled yet in the newly filed information. The case is docketed as CR 26-0032-CR and OPA Case No. 25-0070.
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.
