The #3 story in our countdown of the biggest moments in Guam news in 2019 is the indictment of Yona mayor Jesse Blas. In September 2019, the central village's municipal leader made headlines and left his constituents stunned.

"I'm in shock," resident Debbie Lujan said "I don't believe what's going on right now. He was doing so good with our village and the people I don't believe that happened to him."

Blas was indicted by a federal grand jury accused of extortion and bribes from a confidential informant to smuggle in meth through US Postal Service cluster boxes in his village. He has pleaded not guilty to charges but was ordered to be detained pending his trial next year.

The situation has left the village of Yona without a mayor running the office; instead, the staff has been attending to day to day operations while the Mayors Council of Guam executive director Angel Sablan has been tasked with signing-off on official documents on behalf of the mayor. Additionally, the village of Yona does not have a municipal planning council despite the fact law mandates that every village has one.

As a result of concerns from the community, vice speaker and vice chair of the Committee on Public Safety Telena Nelson held a town hall meeting in the southern village to hear from residents.

Former police chief Joseph Cruz spoke aired his concerns at the meeting.

"I think there is a certain amount of vulnerability that the village senses," he said. "There's no mayor, there's no leader. So who is taking care of those mayoral responsibilities?"

And the former mayor of Yona, Ken Joe Ada, gave a curious response.

"I'm 37-years-old, and I know it may not sound significant to you, but it takes 37 years to be 37-years-old," he said. "I also learned that in the four years I was married, that the village of Yona has resiliency. We fought each other, we made up with each other. Because we're family, we're unique like that. They always joked with me before I ran for mayor that if you're going to run for the mayor of Yona, there's a few street fights you've gotta learn first. And that's how Yona kind of rolls. And we like it like that. But we're a family of love, resiliency, and restoration."

Blas is scheduled for trial in Feb. 2020.