ATTEMPTED ARMED ROBBERY IN THE FSM UNDERSCORES NEED FOR U.S.

C O N F I D E N T I A L KOLONIA 000046

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y - (CLASSIFICATION)

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/ANP
MANILA FOR RSO, MARIO RETA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 4/09/2019
TAGS: ASEC PINS FM
SUBJECT: ATTEMPTED ARMED ROBBERY IN THE FSM UNDERSCORES NEED FOR U.S.
BORDER VIGILANCE

CLASSIFIED BY: DOUGLASSWD, CHARGE DE AFFAIRS, EMBASSY KOLONIA,
DOS.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)


1. (U) In the early morning hours of March 26, two young males
armed with a .22 caliber rifle and a shotgun entered the Chuuk
State branch of the Bank of the Federated States of Micronesia
(FSM),demanding entry into the bank's vault. The bank still
had not opened for business. The sole bank employee present, a
middle-aged woman, lacked the ability to open the vault by
herself. In frustration, one of the suspects hit the employee
in the head with the rifle and fired two shots into the wall.
The suspects then opened the bank tellers' cash boxes, but since
the vault remained closed and the money undistributed the tills
were empty. The would-be robbers fired three more shots at the
teller stations and then fled empty handed. The employee
immediately called the local police and three suspects were
apprehended later that day (a getaway driver was also allegedly
involved).




2. (C) The suspects, all FSM citizens, attended a preliminary
hearing on March 31 at the Chuuk State Supreme Court. Chuuk
State Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Jayson Robert told Pol/Mil
Assistant that the presiding judge, Associate Justice Jeske
Marar, is also a close relative of the one of the suspects. On
April 1 Justice Marar met DAG Robert and the Public Defender in
his chambers and stated that the three suspects will soon be
released on bail of $5,000 each.




3. (C) DAG Robert claims that family members pressured Justice
Marar to release the suspects. For the moment, the accused
remain in jail while the prosecution gather more evidence
against the bail application.




4. (C) Two of the three suspects (John ANSON, DPOB: 11/03/83,
FSM; Jessy MEFY, DPOB: 07/07/84) left Honolulu less than a month
ago. Both reportedly resided in the United States for at least
the last three years, and both managed to acquire Category One
hits in the FBI database. DHS deported the third suspect
(Wenson WILLIANDER, DPOB: 12/14/85, FSM) just last January based
on burglary and drug abuse charges. Williander's girlfriend
told investigators that the suspects are members of the "Chuu
Thug" (spelling is correct) crime gang.




5. (SBU) COMMENT: This case not only demonstrates potential
judicial corruption in Chuuk, but also the wisdom of the new
fingerprinting program for FSM citizens at U.S. ports of entry.
Since 1999, the U.S. deported approximately 200 FSM citizens as
convicted felons. In the past, those deportees could legally
change their names and return to the U.S. on a new passport.
Or, if a shady judge released violent offenders similar to the
ones in this case, the suspects could avoid trial altogether by
obtaining a new passport and skipping to the U.S. Now, however,
with immigration officers checking the fingerprints of FSM
citizens at U.S. ports of entry, mala fide travelers or
returning felons can be weeded out. Justice denied in the FSM
no longer necessarily creates a problem for U.S. law
enforcement. End comment.

DOUGLASSWD