AFTER a two-day bench trial, Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho on Thursday found John M. Deleon Guerrero guilty of theft of utility services.
Deleon Guerrero knew the water meter was tampered with, and benefited from the use of the unpaid use of the water, the judge said, adding that he found the government witnesses credible.
“The water meter to the residence of Pedro Deleon Guerrero located in Chinatown, Saipan was disconnected between August 2023 and November 2023,” the judge said. “On December 13, 2023, CUC employees discovered that the meter was tampered with and reconnected with the pipe and spider valve. On December 13, defendant came out of his house and said that he was the one that reconnected the water meter, that he was sorry, and he needed the water to shower and fill up the water tank. The amount of water usage between November 2023 and December 2023 is $219,” the judge added.
He scheduled a sentencing hearing for Oct. 16 at 10 a.m.
The sentencing memorandum from the parties is due on Oct. 4 while the presentence investigation report is due on Sept. 20, the judge said.
As Deleon Guerrero was issued a penal summons to answer the charge, Judge Camacho allowed the defendant to remain out of custody.
Deleon Guerrero was represented by Assistant Public Defender Molly Dennert, who made an oral motion for judgment of acquittal after the government rested its case on Thursday.
Judge Camacho, however, denied the motion.
Witnesses
Police Officer Elijah Villar testified that on Dec. 13, 2023, he responded to a call from Chinatown where he met CUC meter reader Daniel Cruz and CUC safety technician Delfin Camacho. Villar said he also saw a water meter about 20 to 30 feet from a house.
Cruz testified that he saw the water meter was tampered with, and the account holder was Pedro Deleon Guerrero. But Cruz said he did not see who tampered with the meter. He said the defendant came out of the house and apologized, saying he needed to fill his water tank.
Police Sgt. Daniel Kintol testified that on Jan. 26, 2024, he received two pipes (Exhibit 11.1 and Exhibit 12.1) from CUC’s Delfin Camacho.
The Department of Public Safety’s custodian of evidence, Police Sgt. Terese Manglona, testified that on Jan. 26, 2024, she received the two pipes from Kintol.
For his part, Delfin Camacho testified that on Dec. 13, 2023, he saw the meter was tampered with — meaning, the house was getting free unmetered water. The account holder is Pedro Deleon Guerrero, whose son is the defendant.
Delfin Camacho did not see who tampered with the meter, but the defendant came out of the house and said he was the one who tampered with the meter, and he used it to shower and fill a tank.
Delfin Camacho stated that there were other meters with spider valves that have been tampered with. On Jan. 26, 2024, Delfin Camacho turned in two pipes (Exhibit 11.1 and Exhibit 12.1) to DPS.
CUC meter technician Maximo Attao Jr. testified that the account was disconnected sometime in August 2023-November 2023. But on Nov. 22, 2024, the meter showed usage, so Attao took the reading of the meter, took out the valve and locked the meter box.
CUC foreman supervisor Glenn Dikito testified that he was called to the Pedro Deleon Guerrero residence on Jan. 12, 2024 for a possible tampering case.
CUC fiscal analyst Shani Cabrera testified that based on her calculations between November 2023 and December 2023 the amount owed for water usage was $219.
Other tampering cases
Assistant Attorney General Frances Demapan speaks to reporters following Thursday’s guilty verdict in a utility services theft case.
In an interview after the trial, Assistant Attorney General Frances Demapan said, “This was a criminal case [and] we’re very happy with the verdict. This was entirely a group effort. We worked closely with the Department of Public Safety, especially with the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation. We called five CUC witnesses to the stand, but we prepped and talked with many more CUC employees. These employees helped us put together a solid case and we will continue to prosecute offenders for meter tampering for both power and water, and holding them accountable because at the end of the day, this affects CUC’s paying customers — it raises our costs, and impacts us in significant ways and it’s unfair and unjust to continue to allow tampering to go on without any penalties.”
Demapan said there are other pending investigations of alleged utilities tampering.
“We’re going to continue to keep the connection strong between DPS and CUC regarding other possible meter tampering cases, and hopefully file more criminal cases,” she added.
Asked if cases of tampering have increased in the past years, Demapan said, “CUC water division [staff member] Glenn Dikito testified that he is involved in about eight to 10 [cases] this year so far … but he has been involved in multiple cases during his 34 years at CUC. I know there are more cases out there, [so] we’re just going to continue to work with DPS and CUC to bring those cases to our office, to really put the pieces of the puzzle together.”
