Chalan Mata in Talo’fo’fo’ is seen on Saturday, July 6, 2024.
David Uncangco
HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — A man accused of a fatal shooting in Talo’fo’fo’ over the weekend is being held in prison on $500,000 cash bail.
Within an hour of being charged with aggravated murder in connection to the death of Joshua Taitague, whose body was found with a gunshot wound in Talo’fo’fo’ early Saturday morning, David Uncangco appeared in the Superior Court of Guam on Tuesday afternoon before Magistrate Judge Benjamin Sison Jr.
It was Uncangco’s first appearance during which Sison was to determine whether Uncangco, who also faces a charge of first-degree robbery and possession of a Schedule II controlled substance, should be detained at the Department of Corrections or be released pending trial.
Assistant Attorney General Aaron Boyce requested that Uncangco be held on $500,000 cash bail due to the seriousness of the crime but also because of Uncangco’s criminal history.
According to Post files, Uncangco’s criminal record spans back to 1990. He was arrested on suspicion of various charges throughout the years, including child abuse, assault, terrorizing, family violence, criminal trespass, robbery and possession of a Schedule II controlled substance with intent to deliver.
Uncangco was also convicted in the District Court of Guam for two armed robberies in July 2012 and was sentenced to about eight years in federal prison.
In response to Boyce’s cash bail recommendation, Uncangco’s appointed attorney, Tyler Scott from the Alternate Public Defender, decided to withhold an argument on requesting Uncangco’s release and said the defense may file a motion for Uncangco’s release at a later date.
Sison ordered Uncangco to be detained at DOC.
‘You got the wrong guy’
At different points during the hearing, Uncangco, who appeared on Zoom from DOC, wanted to ask Sison a question. Each time Uncangco tried to speak, Sison said he would address it after he decided on whether Uncangco would be released.
When Sison eventually did allow Uncangco to speak, he first advised Uncangco that he was being recorded and that “anything you say can be used against you.”
Despite the warning, Uncangco made a statement regarding the alleged gun used in Taitague’s death.
“There’s a guy implicated in where the gun came from. … His name is Cundiff. … The gun didn’t come from Cundiff. It came from B.J. Certeza. … You got the wrong guy,” Uncangco said, and continued to try to speak until Scott advised him to remain silent.
“You’re charged with murder. You need to stop talking. We will get in touch with you and discuss how to go forward. We don’t need to talk about this on Zoom,” Scott said.
9 mm pistol
Uncangco was referring to Darryl Wayne Cundiff in the hearing as Cundiff was accused of giving the gun, a 9 mm pistol, to Uncangco several months before the shooting.
Cundiff was charged with possession of a firearm without a firearms identification card and illegal transfer of a firearm as third-degree felonies. He appeared before Sison immediately after Uncangco.
Assistant Attorney General Monty May requested Cundiff be held at DOC on $10,000 cash bail. Despite Uncangco’s statements regarding the gun, May still asserted that Cundiff was a danger to the community.
Cundiff’s attorney, William Jones from the Public Defender Service Corp., requested that Cundiff be released. Jones also used Uncangco’s statements in his argument.
“Mr. Uncangco indicates that Mr. Cundiff did not provide him with the firearm, and it was a B.J. Certeza. So that being said, I think the government’s case is not as strong as they initially assessed it to be,” said Jones.
Following the arguments, Sison decided to have Cundiff held at DOC on $10,000 cash bail.
Co-defendant
Frances Sahagon Cruz, Uncangco’s co-defendant who faces charges of complicity to commit aggravated murder and complicity to commit first-degree robbery, also appeared before Sison, but the hearing did not go forward because she did not have a conflict-free attorney to represent her.
Attorney Terrence Timblin was appointed and was scheduled to appear with Cruz before Sison on Wednesday.
According to charging documents, Uncangco and Cruz were being driven by Taitague at about 3 a.m. Saturday before Taitague’s body was found on the road with a gunshot wound an hour later.
Cruz and Uncangco were eventually located at an Inalåhan residence Sunday and were taken into custody for questioning. However, their stories regarding what happened to Taitague differed.
Cruz’s story consisted of accusing Uncangco of shooting Taitague, while Uncangco stated he saw Cruz with a gun, struggled with her to get the gun, and when the gun went off both of them were holding the gun, court documents state.
Uncangco and Cruz then allegedly pulled Taitague’s body out of the car and left him on the road, despite Uncangco allegedly saying he did not want to leave the body on the road, but Cruz “insisted,” according to charging documents.
Cruz further stated she and Uncangco had been smoking methamphetamine and had not slept for several days.
Police were able to locate the pair after they were discovered to have robbed a store in Dededo while driving Taitague’s car. When Cruz and Uncangco were found in Inalåhan, authorities found small bags and a pipe that contained meth.
