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