A man accused of murder in a 2021 death outside of a Tamuning restaurant was denied his request to be placed on pretrial release.
On Wednesday afternoon, John Mike Muliaga appeared in the Superior Court of Guam before Magistrate Judge Jonathan Quan for a bail modification hearing.
Muliaga currently is being held on $25,000 cash bail on charges of murder related to the death of Marine Corps veteran Jaron Weilbacher in October 2021 at King's Restaurant in Tamuning.
Muliaga's counsel, Brycen Breazeale from the Alternate Public Defender, asked for Muliaga to be released and be allowed to stay with co-defendant Fiatuagaluia Ahkee, Muliaga's brother, and Ahkee's wife.
Breazeale explained, since Muliaga is not from Guam, Ahkee and his wife remain the only people who would be able to take Muliaga in. Additionally, Breazeale highlighted that when Muliaga was released previously, he was compliant with conditions for eight months until Muliaga's then-third-party custodians were unable to supervise him.
Muliaga has been in custody of the Department of Corrections since September 2022, and Breazeale stated that a trial date has yet to be set, and a plea offer has not been sent.
"Mr. Muliaga is effectively sitting in jail waiting for trial," Breazeale said, arguing that Ahkee is currently on pretrial release despite being in a similar situation to Muliaga in terms of the charges and lack of criminal history.
"Your Honor, 3-1/2 years down the line, my client and co-defendant should be treated the same. Neither of them have a criminal record. They are charged in the same exact crime," Breazeale said.
In response, Special Assistant Attorney General Curtis Van de veld, who was recently assigned to prosecute the case, opposed Muliaga's release and most of the reasoning for it related to the alleged facts of the case, noting that Muliaga is believed to be more culpable in the death of Weilbacher.
According to charging documents, Muliaga allegedly punched Weilbacher and continued to attack Weilbacher after he fell to the ground. Ahkee is accused of punching Weilbacher when he was on the ground.
Van de veld further argued that having Muliaga and Ahkee stay together pending trial would be problematic.
"Particularly because of this grave concern about manipulation of evidence, manipulation of stories at the time the case goes to trial," Van de veld said.
Additionally, Van de veld was concerned about Muliaga being a danger to the community after the "egregious, violent episode" and fears Muliaga is a flight risk.
Breazeale subsequently had a chance to rebut Van de veld, citing the facts of the case and arguing there is exculpatory evidence that would show Muliaga was not involved in the altercation at all and there are witnesses who could testify to those facts.
Regarding Muliaga and Ahkee possibly manipulating the evidence in the case, Breazeale said any hypothetical conversations between the two would occur between their attorneys and Quan could order they don't talk about the case.
In conclusion, Breazeale said the law "requires" Muliaga's release as he is presumed innocent until proven guilty, is not a danger to the community and is not a flight risk.
Despite the arguments, Quan decided not to release Muliaga, but said he would consider the request again if Muliaga can find somewhere else to stay.