HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — A man charged in the fatal assault of Arnold Narruhn refused to plead guilty despite signing a plea agreement.
On Wednesday afternoon, Jerron Walliby appeared in the Superior Court of Guam to plead guilty to his involvement in the death of Narruhn at New Fatima Mart in Dededo on Dec. 11, 2022.
Jerron Walliby initially was charged with aggravated assault, but was later indicted on a charge of murder as a first-degree felony as Narruhn was on life support in the hospital for several days before dying.
With his plea agreement, Jerron Walliby agreed to plead guilty to aggravated assault as a third-degree felony and a lesser included offense of aggravated assault as a second-degree felony. The terms also would mean Jerron Walliby would be serving one year in prison with credit for time served. Since Jerron Walliby has been confined since last year, he would be released before the end of the year.
However, as Judge Alberto Tolentino was in the process going through the plea and reading it to Jerron Walliby, who required the assistance of a Chuukese interpreter, there appeared to be confusion regarding the terms.
Plea
During Jerron Walliby’s change-of-plea hearing, he was allowed on two separate occasions to be given more time to speak with his attorney, Joseph Razzano.
The first issue stemmed from Jerron Walliby not fully understanding, with the guilty plea, he would need to go to trial as a witness against his brother. Jerron Walliby appeared to have been confused with the fact he would, with the guilty plea, be testifying against his brother Branty Walliby in his trial.
Upon Jerron Walliby returning from his private meeting with Razzano, Tolentino, as part of going through the plea, asked about Jerron Walliby’s involvement during the incident which led to the death of Narruhn.
“I got out from the store with my alcohol. I was standing outside and two other males came towards me. They were telling me they’re going to take away my alcohol. My brother was on the side. … He came and asked, ‘What was going on?'” Jerron Walliby said in Chuukese before his statement was translated by the interpreter.
“At that time, Arnold took the alcohol. Branty, at the same time, tried to take it away from him,” Jerron Walliby said. “There was kicking and punching. That’s all I remember.”
Considering Jerron Walliby was pleading guilty to aggravated assault, or causing bodily injury to Narruhn, Jerron Walliby denied doing anything to Narruhn.
“What did you do to Arnold?” Tolentino asked.
“Nothing,” Jerron Walliby replied, before Tolentino repeated his question and Jerron Walliby answered the same.
The confusion led to another private meeting between Razzano and Jerron Walliby. However, it would not make a difference in Jerron Walliby’s answers and marked the end of the hearing.
Trial
In light of the events of the hearing, Tolentino eventually decided to reschedule Jerron Walliby’s change-of-plea hearing for 9 a.m. Monday.
The fact Jerron Walliby did not plead guilty, though, also affected Branty Walliby’s trial, which was supposed to start with opening statements after Jerron Walliby pleaded guilty.
Jerron Walliby, if he had pleaded guilty, would have testified as a witness against Branty Walliby as part of his cooperation with the Office of the Attorney General. Jerron Walliby would have been released from prison after testifying.
Jerron Walliby not taking the plea in part affected the start of his brother’s trial. However, Branty Walliby’s attorney, Terrence Timblin, required more time to prepare and watch a video of the assault.
Tolentino scheduled Branty Walliby’s trial to start Monday afternoon, after Jerron Walliby is scheduled to plead guilty.
Photo by Frank San Nicolas/The Guam Daily Post
