JURORS will continue their deliberations today, Monday, after failing to reach a verdict on Thursday in the trial of former Chief of Parole Nick Reyes and F&S Corporation owner Chuilian Fu, who are charged with conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office, conspiracy to commit theft by deception, and theft by deception.
They have denied the charges.
The jury trial started on April 7, and jurors began their deliberations on Tuesday, April 15.
Earlier, Superior Court Judge Teresa Kim-Tenorio, who is presiding over the case, said if jurors did not reach a verdict on Thursday, they would resume deliberations on Monday, as Good Friday is a CNMI-observed holiday.
Assistant Attorneys General James Robert Kingman and David Krach are prosecuting the case.
Reyes is represented by attorney Joaquin Torres, while Fu is represented by attorney Anthony Aguon.
The prosecution has called to the witness stand two Department of Finance employees, a Procurement staffer, two former parolees, Parole Officers Vicente Repeki and Shirley Laniyo, along with Parole Supervisor Jason Lizama. Ikluk Masayos, the Office of the Attorney General’s chief investigator, was the last witness to testify for the government.
For its part, the defense called only one witness, Board of Parole Chair Chris Leon Guerrero.
According to the information filed by the Office of the Attorney General in Superior Court, on or about Oct. 4, 2022, Reyes agreed with Fu “that one or both would engage in or solicit theft of property by deception, to wit, the construction of a patio at the Parole Office purported to be constructed by a tailoring company owned by Chuilian Fu’s F&S Corporation in the amount of $9,997.80, but actually constructed by uncompensated labor performed by parolees under the direction of…Reyes.”
