ASSISTANT Public Defender Vena Seelam has accused the Office of the Attorney General’s criminal division of unlawfully arresting her client, Seanscott Songsong, a Rota resident.
At a bail hearing Thursday morning before Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho, Seelam questioned the legality of Songsong’s arrest and detention at the Department of Correction.
She said her client was arrested and was taken into custody on Dec. 3 on Rota but was later released due to “unavailability of flights” from the island.
On Dec. 22, her client was brought to Saipan but was not brought immediately to the court for an initial appearance, Seelam said.
She asked the court to release her client under his own recognizance, and to issue a penal summons.
Assistant Attorney General Carmen Borja, for her part, said the defendant was not detained for more than 24 hours on Dec. 3.
As for the defendant’s arrest on Dec. 22, Borja said the wrong charging form was initially used and upon noticing the error, corrections were immediately made within a 24-hour time frame.
Songsong, 32, was charged with domestic violence, assault & battery, and disturbing the peace.
The victim reported the domestic violence incident on Dec. 3 at 7:39 a.m., according to court documents.
The victim told the Department of Public Safety-Rota investigator, that she and her boyfriend, Songsong, had an argument early that morning in her car.
She said her boyfriend pushed her and broke the side mirror of her car.
She also said Songsong pushed her inside her house after she made coffee for herself.
Songsong grabbed her phone and then her hair before slamming her head to the door, the victim said.
When she found her key so she could leave the house, the defendant pushed her again, she added.
According to Rota police, Songsong declined to answer and make any statement without a lawyer present.
Judge Camacho on Thursday granted the defendant’s request to be released to his father on Rota as third-party custodian after submitting a $5,000 unsecured bond.
But the judge also ordered Songsong to stay away and not to contact his girlfriend and to comply with the conditions of his release.
Songsong is scheduled to appear in court or through video teleconference from the Rota courthouse for a preliminary hearing on Dec. 29 at 10 a.m., and arraignment on Jan. 18, 2022 at 9 a.m.
