Dededo man with 4 prior convictions indicted

Guam - A Dededo man who allegedly shot a woman over burnt rice was indicted by a superior court grand jury charged with attempted murder, family violence, special allegations of possession and use of a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm without a firearms ID.

Five. That's how many times 32-year-old Clifford Benavente San Nicolas has been arrested and charged with family violence, among other crimes. While he is currently being held on $500,000 cash bail for allegedly shooting a woman in the neck after an argument over burnt rice, the victim remains at the Guam Memorial Hospital where her doctor has said she will likely be paralyzed from the neck down for the rest of her life.

San Nicolas initially denied knowing how the woman was shot but later admitted that he wanted to scare her and shot her when he put a rifle to her neck.  The Dededo man was on parole at the time of the shooting and was also recently arrested in connection with an armed robbery that occurred in Anigua. But court records show that San Nicolas has been convicted of family violence multiple times and despite the four previous arrests, only spent 96 days behind bars.

San Nicolas was first charged with family violence back in 2000. According to superior court records, he was sentenced to six days behind bars, 150 hours of community service and three years of probation.  A year later he was back before a judge after pleading guilty to possession of a Schedule II Controlled Substance and family violence. 

His sentence?  Five years incarceration - suspended - a $5,000 fine, substance abuse treatment and probation.

In 2002 he pleaded guilty again to family violence and was sentenced to 90 days behind bars and ordered to perform 50 hours of community service. And in 2007, San Nicolas was back in court yet again and pleaded guilty to four counts of felony terrorizing and felony family violence. He was sentenced to two years and eight months but the two years behind bars was suspended and the eight months was designated as in-house treatment at lighthouse, along with a $2,000 fine plus court costs and five years probation.

San Nicolas is scheduled to appear back in the Superior Court of Guam to answer to the attempted murder and family violence charges on February 13.