by Nick Delgado

Guam - Several defendants in a major drug trafficking ring case were scheduled to appear in court this week for a status hearing. Mateo Sardoma Jr., Rudy Sablan and Maria Edrosa are among a group of people who are accused of organizing a continuing criminal enterprise and conspiring to distribute hundreds of grams of crystal methamphetamine. They are scheduled to go to trial in January.

Three of the co-defendants in the case - Chris Mesa, Paul Nelson Perez and Sylvia Mashburn Duenas, who agreed to cooperate with authorities - were scheduled to appear in court for a status hearing this week.

Their defense attorneys have asked that the hearing be continued until after they testify in the trial so the court can be fully briefed on the extent of their cooperation.