CHIEF Prosecutor Chester Hinds and Assistant Public Defender Emily Thomsen are requesting the Superior Court to reschedule the jury trial of Police Officer Raymond Lizama Saralu due to the unavailability of a key witness.
Thomsen represents Saralu, 27, who is facing six counts of storage of firearms charges for his failure to secure six firearms in his possession, which police said resulted in an accidental discharge of a weapon that seriously injured his 7-year-old nephew on May 21, 2023.
Saralu was also charged with one count of obstructing justice for removing his government-issued firearm — the actual evidence used in the commission of the crime — and replacing it with his personal firearm.
Each of the five counts is punishable by a fine of $1,000 and imprisonment of not more than 180 days, or both.
One count of the storage of firearms charge involved Saralu’s government-issued firearm, Glock 19 Gen5 9mm, which caused serious bodily injury to the minor victim. The offense is punishable by a $5,000 fine, and/or five years’ imprisonment.
The obstructing justice charge against Saralu is punishable by one-year imprisonment and a fine of $1,000, or both.
Saralu’s jury trial is set for Jan. 8, 2024, at 9 a.m. before Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho.
Minor victim’s medical condition
According to the prosecution and defense, “The Commonwealth received an update on the minor victim’s medical situation. The victim’s mother informed our office that the minor victim has recently undergone a procedure on Dec. 6, 2023, and it was determined that the minor victim would require oral surgery, and [they] are waiting for the doctors to set a new date. Due to the uncertainty of the next scheduled surgery, to include recovery period following his surgery, the minor victim and his mother have no confirmed return date for their scheduled return to Saipan. After conferring with defense counsel, the defendant stipulates to the continuance, and waives his speedy trial rights.”
Background
According to the complaint and affidavit of probable cause in support of the issuance of an arrest warrant, Saralu called DPS 911 dispatch on May 21, 2023, at about 9:06 p.m., requesting an ambulance to his residence in Kagman III.
On the same night, the 7-year-old victim was placed in the intensive care unit of the Commonwealth Health Center. He suffered an entry wound on the left side of his face. His jaw was fractured and some of his teeth were broken.
Responding police officers found a total of eight unsecured firearms in different areas of Saralu’s residence. An investigator stated that some of the firearms were found in an unfinished closet space that had no doors.
A Phoenix Arms HP22A .22 handgun and an Aero Precision LLC X15 AR were procured from Saralu’s personal vehicle while a Remington 870 pump action shotgun, a Ruger Prescott handgun, a Glock 43, a Benjamin .177, a Ruger .22 Rifle, and a government-issued handgun, a Glock 19 Gen 5 9mm, were found inside his residence.
Saralu was not charged for the possession of a Ruger Prescott handgun and a Benjamin .177 rifle.
The mother of the victim told police that she learned from her son that another boy took the gun from Saralu’s belt. When the victim took the gun from the other boy, the gun discharged.
The victim was later transported to Guam Memorial Hospital by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter.
Medical personnel at GMH removed shrapnel from the boy’s face on May 23, 2023, and conducted a palate repair.
Shrapnel removed during the surgery was obtained by the Guam Police Department and submitted to the Guam Forensic Laboratory as evidence.
The CNMI Department of Public Safety said based on the ballistic evidence collected by investigators at the location and analyzed by the Guam Police Department crime lab, the shell casings and fragments originated from Saralu’s government-issued firearm
Saralu is a seven-year police veteran who graduated from the Police Academy in 2016. He has been placed on administrative leave without pay pending the outcome of the case.
