Tedtaotao refuses to testify against codefendants
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px;">What appeared to be a sweet deal for Jathan Tedtaotao turned sour after he refused to testify against his codefendants in the Bank of Guam robbery jury trial yesterday.</span>
May 15, 2014Updated: May 15, 2014
By KUAM News
By KUAM Newsby Krystal Paco
Guam - What appeared to be a sweet deal for Jathan Tedtaotao turned sour after he refused to testify against his codefendants in the Bank of Guam robbery jury trial yesterday.
"It's always ideal to have various types and quantity and quality of evidence but sometimes the evidence comes down to an eye witness," said chief deputy AG Phillip Tydingco.
And for the prosecution, the only eye witness that could tie three codefendants to the Bank of Guam robbery was Jathan Tedtaotao.
As Tedtaotao took the stand on Wednesday afternoon however, he refused to testify against his co-defendants, Ricky Mcintosh Jr., Vincent Santos, and Antonio Quitugua.
As Tedtaotao confessed to the cops back in March, he conspired with Mcintosh, Santos, and Quitugua to rob the Yigo bank. Tedtaotao and Mcintosh allegedly entered the bank armed with a handgun and would take the cash from teller drawers while Santos drove the getaway vehicle and Quitugua the lookout.
Late last week Tedtaotao entered a plea agreement with the government requiring that he testify against his codefendants and in return, receive a maximum nine year sentence for combined charges in the bank robbery as well as a Yigo burglary.
"We will be moving to set aside the plea agreement of course because he did not meet his obligations under the plea agreement and he did not cooperate fully. So his conduct nullified that agreement," according to Tydingco. He said Tedtaotao could be sentenced up to twenty years behind bars for all the charges as he failed to hold up his end of the bargain.
As we reported yesterday, the court acquitted all the bank robbery related charges for Mcintosh, Santos, and Quitugua as no evidence presented by prosecution could tie any of the men to the case. As Tydingco explains, the Guam AG's Office can't try the men again for the same charges due to double jeopardy, but the federal government sure could.
"They'll review whatever police reports and investigations and make a determination under the federal statutes whether they can proceed under their various laws," he said.
Meanwhile, Tedtaotao would go to trial for both the robbery and the burglary case.
"His confession would be used against him in his bank robbery case," he said.
Although Mcintosh, Santos, and Quitugua were acquitted for all bank robbery charges, they're not free men just yet.
Although Mcintosh was released last night, he was arrested again on burglary charges. According to court documents, latent fingerprints on a jewelry box tie Mcintosh to a burglary back in January 2012. If convicted for this crime, Mcintosh could face anywhere from five to ten years behind bars because of his prior felonies.
Quitugua is also detained for stealing firearms from a Yigo home burglary while Santos is on probation for a prior crime.
The Bank of Guam robbery case remains open.
Guam - What appeared to be a sweet deal for Jathan Tedtaotao turned sour after he refused to testify against his codefendants in the Bank of Guam robbery jury trial yesterday.
"It's always ideal to have various types and quantity and quality of evidence but sometimes the evidence comes down to an eye witness," said chief deputy AG Phillip Tydingco.
And for the prosecution, the only eye witness that could tie three codefendants to the Bank of Guam robbery was Jathan Tedtaotao.
As Tedtaotao took the stand on Wednesday afternoon however, he refused to testify against his co-defendants, Ricky Mcintosh Jr., Vincent Santos, and Antonio Quitugua.
As Tedtaotao confessed to the cops back in March, he conspired with Mcintosh, Santos, and Quitugua to rob the Yigo bank. Tedtaotao and Mcintosh allegedly entered the bank armed with a handgun and would take the cash from teller drawers while Santos drove the getaway vehicle and Quitugua the lookout.
Late last week Tedtaotao entered a plea agreement with the government requiring that he testify against his codefendants and in return, receive a maximum nine year sentence for combined charges in the bank robbery as well as a Yigo burglary.
"We will be moving to set aside the plea agreement of course because he did not meet his obligations under the plea agreement and he did not cooperate fully. So his conduct nullified that agreement," according to Tydingco. He said Tedtaotao could be sentenced up to twenty years behind bars for all the charges as he failed to hold up his end of the bargain.
As we reported yesterday, the court acquitted all the bank robbery related charges for Mcintosh, Santos, and Quitugua as no evidence presented by prosecution could tie any of the men to the case. As Tydingco explains, the Guam AG's Office can't try the men again for the same charges due to double jeopardy, but the federal government sure could.
"They'll review whatever police reports and investigations and make a determination under the federal statutes whether they can proceed under their various laws," he said.
Meanwhile, Tedtaotao would go to trial for both the robbery and the burglary case.
"His confession would be used against him in his bank robbery case," he said.
Although Mcintosh, Santos, and Quitugua were acquitted for all bank robbery charges, they're not free men just yet.
Although Mcintosh was released last night, he was arrested again on burglary charges. According to court documents, latent fingerprints on a jewelry box tie Mcintosh to a burglary back in January 2012. If convicted for this crime, Mcintosh could face anywhere from five to ten years behind bars because of his prior felonies.
Quitugua is also detained for stealing firearms from a Yigo home burglary while Santos is on probation for a prior crime.
The Bank of Guam robbery case remains open.