A former employee of the Palau Public Utility Corporation (PPUC) who was jailed after he was found guilty of stealing PPUC money was caught in possession of Marijuana while serving his sentence under a plea agreement.
Sacked PPUC employee Jesse Edward, who is serving the first six months of the five-year supervised probation in prison after he pleaded guilty to Theft of Government Property, was granted a six-to-six work release. This means that he is allowed to go out during the day to work and come back at night to serve his sentence. However, when he came back to the jail on October 25, he was allegedly caught in possession of Marijuana.
Bureau of Public Safety Director Aloysius Alonz said in an interview that Edward was withheld for 24 hours after the incident but was later released to serve the regular sentence after the police failed to complete the filing of the report to the court within the given period.
Once the report is submitted, it is for the court to decide whether to stop the work release or not, Alonz explained.
In response to the allegation that Edward was released soon enough than he was supposed to be, Alonz explained that depending on the gravity of the offense, a detainee who violates the law could be detained for 24 hours or 72 hours. The BPS Director confirmed that Edward was only kept for 24 hours and was released afterwards to serve the regular sentence.
Another charges will soon be prepared pertaining to the new incident, Alonz clarified.
Alonz said that after the officers complete the report on the incident, there will be a hearing with the jail where a decision to determine the sanctions against Edward will be made.
The court decision revealed that Edward pleaded guilty to Theft of Government Property in the second degree and was ordered to serve his jail sentence stating October 21 and pay restitution to the PPUC worth $1,352.01 within three years from the date of the order’s issuance.
The Times previously reported that a cash worth $1,300 was missing in July, along with some checks, when the PPUC was transporting the payments after collecting them from Peleliu.
The PPUC clarified that since Edward was linked to the case, he was sacked by the company and is no longer with them since August. (Rhealyn C. Pojas)
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to correct that Jesse Edward was no longer working with the PPUC since August after he was involved in the mentioned case. It was never the intention to demean any entity. We humbly apologize for the error.