By Bryan Manabat
[email protected]
Variety News Staff
THE Department of Public Safety arrested a 45-year-old man Monday morning after a reported vandalism incident in Oleai.
DPS public information officer Fred Sato identified the suspect as Ariel Shtul, who was taken into custody shortly after officers responded to the complaint.
Shtul was charged with criminal mischief and criminal trespass, Sato said. He was booked and remains detained at the CNMI Department of Corrections.
A photo of Shtul circulated on social media over the weekend after the vandalism was caught on camera near a “Free Palestine” sign posted on private property in Oleai.
On Monday, Shtul reportedly returned to the area and was confronted by the property owner, Ponce Rasa, who chased him away. In a video posted online, Shtul can be heard shouting, “I’m dying for the police to arrest me…. The police do not have the ba**s; I have them.” The license plate of the vehicle Shtul was driving is also shown in the video.
As of Monday, no further information about the incident or Shtul’s arrest was available.
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.
