REPRESENTATIVE Vicente C. Camacho and co-defendant Teipo Nikiti, through their attorneys, are opposing the Office of the Attorney General’s request to amend the charges against them for their involvement in a domestic violence incident last year on Freedom Drive, Chinatown.
Camacho, 61, and Teipo Nikiti, 21, were accused of assaulting Steven Koch on Oct. 29, 2021.
Camacho, through attorney Michael White, said the government is not allowed to amend the charges because the AG’s office failed to file the amendment within the time set by the court.
White said the government has “failed to allege, and simply cannot prove that” his client “strangled or attempted to strangle a household member, which is prerequisite for a conviction under Count II of the proposed amended information.”
Each defendant was charged by the government last year with assault and battery, and disturbing the peace. The charges were considered misdemeanors.
Chief Prosecutor Chester Hinds, in his request for leave to amend the information against Camacho and Nikiti, stated that it’s in the best interests of the government to charge Camacho with “Count I: Aggravated Assault and Battery, in violation of 6 CMC 1203(a); Count II: Strangulation, in violation of 6 CMC 14689(a)(1), and Count III: Disturbing the Peace, in violation of 6 CMC 3101(a).”
As for Nikiti, the government wants to amend the charges to “Count I: Aggravated Assault and Battery, in violation of 6 CMC 1203(a); and Count II: Disturbing the Peace, in violation of 6 CMC 3101(a).”
After careful review of the evidence, and additional investigation conducted by the AG’s office and the Department of Public Safety, Hinds stated that the information filed on Nov. 10, 2021 must be amended to reflect the actions of the defendants on the night of Oct. 29, 2021.
According to Hinds, “The victim (Koch) has suffered serious bodily/psychological injury due to the actions of the defendants and the information should be amended to reflect those actions. Mr. Koch, as evidenced by his medical records and examinations, has sustained serious bodily/psychological injury, after the night of Oct. 29. On the night of this incident, Mr. Koch was punched multiple times and [Camacho] pinned his knee on Mr. Koch’s neck causing him to lose consciousness.”
The defendant’s action created a high probability of death and other bodily/psychological injuries, Hinds added.
Hinds said Koch’s injuries could not be determined within the first weeks after the incident.
Hinds also said they want to charge Camacho with strangulation because the defendant pinned his knee on the neck of the victim, “impeding normal breath or circulation of Koch, causing him not to be able to breathe and may have rendered him unconscious.”
Due to the evidence that has been discovered since the incident, the court should grant the request to amend the charges, Hinds said.
The prosecutor has also summoned Dr. Norma Ada to testify before Superior Court Associate Judge Kenneth L. Govendo at a hearing on June 9, 2022, at 1:30 p.m. in Courtroom 205A.
Like Camacho, Nikiti, represented by Assistant Public Defender Vina Seelam, also opposes the amended charges.
Seelam said, “The proposed amendment to the information prejudices the defendant by jeopardizing his ability to conduct proper investigation related to the newly alleged elements of the crime.”
She said had the defendant been aware that “serious bodily injury” was alleged from the start, the defendant may have been able to interview witnesses at that time who possessed information relevant to the alleged injury.
“Now, months later, the memories of any such witnesses will be faded and possibly unreliable,” Seelam added.
“It is also prejudicial that the proposed Amended Information would significantly increase the range of punishment for Mr. Nikiti (from a maximum of 1 year of incarceration to a maximum of 10 years) and necessitates a jury trial rather than a bench trial.”
These actions by the government have significant ramifications for a defendant’s constitutional rights and must be evaluated closely by the court, Seelam said.
Camacho was arrested by the Department of Public Safety on the evening of Nov. 2, 2021, but he immediately posted $1,250 cash bail and is out of custody.
Koch suffered abrasions, bruising, and pain on his head and body from the blows, and was taken to the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation for examination resulting from the incident on Oct. 29, 2021.
Koch, his wife and daughter on Nov. 1, 2021 sought a temporary restraining order from the Superior Court to prevent Camacho and three other individuals “from engaging in any further physical harm, disturbance, harassment, blocking, threats and verbal abuse.”
The petitioners were represented by attorney Charity Hodson.
On Nov. 12, 2021, Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho found cause for domestic violence, and granted a temporary restraining order and a one-year protective order against Rep. Vicente Castro Camacho, Ignacio “Ike” S. Concepcion, Fiel Reynaldo Ortiz, and Tiepo A. Nikiti.
“This order of protection shall continue in effect for a period of one year unless extended or dissolved by the court in writing and shall expire on November 8, 2022,” Judge Camacho stated.
The incident, which stemmed from a long-standing animosity between Koch and his brother-in-law, Concepcion, took place near the homes of Koch and Concepcion on Freedom Drive, Chinatown around 11 p.m. on Oct. 29, 2021.
Vicente Camacho
