Newton Tmarsel is escorted by a Corrections officer to a bail hearing on Monday.
Photo by Bryan Manabat
NEWTON O’Keeve Tmarsel has been charged with burglary and theft for stealing assorted alcoholic beverages, an iPad valued at $500, and $2,000 in cash from Cheers Karaoke in the early morning hours of June 11, 2025.
At a bail hearing on Monday, Superior Court Judge Joseph N. Camacho granted Assistant Attorney General Frances Demapan’s request to maintain Tmarsel’s cash bail at $10,000.
Due to a conflict of interest, the Public Defender’s Office will not represent Tmarsel. The court will appoint a private attorney to handle his defense.
Tmarsel, who will turn 37 on July 28, was remanded to the custody of the Department of Corrections. He was ordered to return to court for a preliminary hearing on July 16 at 10 a.m. and arraignment on July 21 at 9 a.m.
According to the criminal complaint, the Cheers Karaoke operator contacted the police on June 11 to report a break-in.
In his affidavit of probable cause supporting the request for an arrest warrant, Detective Felix Hocog stated that he reviewed surveillance footage from June 11 with the operator and another detective. He said the footage showed Tmarsel inside the bar at 2:52 a.m., using a lighter to look around.
Hocog said he recognized the defendant from prior encounters.
He also reviewed CCTV footage from nearby establishments and observed a male individual wearing a gray item around his neck and khaki shorts outside Cheers Karaoke.
According to the detective, Tmarsel was seen entering the bar at 2:52 a.m. and exiting at 2:58 a.m. carrying a black bag.
At 3:06 a.m., he was seen with what appeared to be a yellow bag, reentering the bar from Johnny’s Bar and exiting at 3:11 a.m.
Tmarsel reentered the bar once more and was seen leaving at 5:44 a.m., again carrying various items.
In total, Hocog said, Tmarsel entered the establishment four times.
The karaoke operator told detectives the business had closed at 2 a.m. on June 11 and that nothing seemed unusual at the time. However, upon returning at 4:50 p.m., the operator noticed the handle of the door facing Beach Road was broken and a case of assorted alcoholic beverages was missing from the bar’s chiller.
The operator also reported that $2,000 in cash — sales from June 1 to 11 — was missing from a drawer beneath the bar, along with an iPad used for taking orders.
The Office of the Attorney General’s Criminal Division has a pending petition to revoke Tmarsel’s probation in connection with a 2019 case.
In addition, Tmarsel was arrested in 2021 for assaulting an off-duty police officer.
