HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — A man faces a maximum of five years in federal prison for conspiring to steal copper wire from federal property in 2019.
On Tuesday in the District Court of Guam, Jeffrey Norita Lizama pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit theft of government property.
Lizama, who was indicted in September along with co-defendant Albert Benavente Taimanglo, was accused of going to an area in Radio Barrigada and “using tools to pry open utility access points” at the U.S. Naval Communication Station Jan. 27, 2019.
The indictment stated Lizama and Taimanglo allegedly used tools to remove copper cabling, loaded it into a vehicle and drove it to a residence occupied by a co-conspirator.
“The defendants and others removed the plastic sheathing from the copper cabling, cutting the cabling into pieces, and loaded it into vehicles in preparation for sales as scrap at metal recycling centers,” the indictment states.
The damage was estimated at $44,567.90.
With Lizama pleading guilty, he faces a maximum of five years in federal prison, a fine of no more than $250,000 and a three-year supervised release term.
Lizama is scheduled to be sentenced March 19, 2024.
Taimanglo
Also on Tuesday, a plea agreement for Taimanglo was filed in District Court.
Taimanglo, according to court documents, agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit theft of government property and also faces a maximum of five years in federal prison.
After the plea agreement was filed, a change of plea hearing was scheduled for Thursday at 11 a.m.
Record
According to Post files, Lizama and Taimanglo were charged in December 2019 in connection with burglarizing a warehouse in Yigo where they allegedly broke into several cars and stole gas, rims and tires.
Lizama also was arrested in June 2019 on suspicion of stealing copper wire in April 2017, aluminum pipes in January 2019 and copper wire from a Guam Waterworks Authority water well in Yigo on April 28.
Post files show that Taimanglo had been charged in federal court previously for unlawfully entering Andersen Air Force Base on May 2, 2019, and attempting to steal copper wire and other metals from the base.
For the charge, Taimanglo was sentenced to five months in federal prison.
Jeffrey Norita Lizama
