Trial in federal jury tampering case could be moved
Jerick Sablan
Trial for the brother of a retired Guam Police Department officer may be pushed back after his lawyer asked the court for more time.
William Gavras is representing William Mantanona, who's been accused along with his brother, of jury tampering in a federal drug case.
William Mantanona had previously filed a plea deal that could have required him to testify against his brother John "Boom" Mantanona but is moving forward with a trial.
Retired officer John Mantanona was hired as an investigator for the defense in the drug trial of Raymond Martinez and Juanita Moser. Martinez and Moser went to trial twice, with both ending with hung juries.
John Mantanona is accused of influencing a juror to vote not guilty in the Martinez and Moser trial with the help of his brother, William Mantanona.
Gavras said he will be in local court for another trial a week before trial in William Mantanona's case is set to start.
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Trial is scheduled for Jan. 7, 2020, but Gavras said the local trial could go longer than a week and is asking to push back his client's trial by two weeks.
Gavras said the motion is unopposed by federal prosecutors and he also asked for a pretrial conference be moved to Jan. 7, 2020.
Martinez and Moser were sentenced by a California federal court judge to four years in prison after taking plea deals.
The couple had two mistrials in the Guam federal court, but eventually signed plea deals in California. They each pleaded guilty to illegal use of a communication facility.
The charges stem from a June 2015 incident in which they both used a telephone to facilitate the possession of about eight pounds of meth, the plea deal states. According to court documents, the two tried to smuggle methamphetamine to Guam, got caught, then engaged in jury tampering to avoid responsibility for their actions.
During the second trial, defendants were involved in jury tampering, prosecutors said.
William and John Mantanona, along with juror Greg Tyquiengco, were charged in connection with the alleged jury tampering.
All three have pleaded not guilty to the charges.