Mayor: Vacant building public safety issue
A magistrate's complaint filed in the Superior Court of Guam shines light on a public safety issue that the village of Tamuning has encountered time and again: vacant and abandoned buildings that invite people, including those experiencing homelessness, to loiter.
The complaint filed against Zachary David Salas Palomo stems from a report of a possible burglary and removal of a person at the old Guam Poly Clinic building in Tamuning.
"It was reported that individuals were allegedly hanging out on the third floor. While conducting a check of the third floor, (officers with the Guam Police Department) encountered two male individuals, identified as Rudy Duenas and Zachary Palomo," charging documents said, noting that police saw "in plain view, suspected controlled substances."
The complaint said that Palomo told officers that he was at the Guam Poly Clinic for "the past two weeks as he is homeless."
Duenas was not charged in connection to the incident, but Palomo was charged after discoveries were allegedly made during a pat-down of both the suspects.
"Police found a black and white bag, unzipped, with multiple transparent Ziploc bags with crystal-like substance (in Palomo's) right pocket. Police also found a glass pipe with residue in his left pocket," the complaint said.
An interview of Palomo by police revealed that "he has been smoking meth since 2012," court documents said.
"(The) defendant admitted the last time he smoked was around 5 a.m. while he was at the Poly Clinic with Duenas. (The) defendant stated that the meth he was found with he got from a friend around 2 to 3 p.m. (The) defendant admitted that he tried to hide his meth in fear of going to prison," the complaint said.
Palomo was charged with possession of a Schedule II controlled substance as a third-degree felony and felony while on felony release.
He was confined to the Department of Corrections on $5,000 cash bail.
The old Guam Poly Clinic, according to Tamuning Mayor Louise Rivera, is a vacant building that the building owners are trying to secure.
"The building owner is there, and they're trying to fix it up, and they boarded it up, trying to protect it and clean it. But, you know, the squatters are just going everywhere into many different buildings, even in open areas, sleeping under a stairwell or something like that. That's what's happening," Rivera told The Guam Daily Post on Sunday, stressing that the building owners are doing their part.
Loitering and squatting are growing problems for the village of Tamuning.
"We're just seeing activity, individuals hanging out around there and other parts. All different activity going on. Even with the bus stop that's right there in front by that building, it was just painted, sponsored by Home Depot, and it's already graffitied. There's just a bunch of people that are just doing the wrongdoings and finding places that have no activity," Rivera said.
The mayor expressed hope that the old Guam Poly Clinic building can be sold but noted that the issues she spoke of have ripple effects.
"That's also another issue, of course, is with new property owners or even people looking into buying a property. They see these issues and that might just scare them away," she said. "We need to find ways to help these individuals from hurting people's private property or just causing all these different issues."
Combating suspicious activities with vigilance, Rivera said the community is working together.
"We have an outstanding community that cares, and so a lot of individuals take part in the neighborhood crime watch chat. We have chats for different areas, so anything suspicious or things like that, criminal activity, they're asked to report it on the chat," the mayor said.
The active community involvement, Rivera said, is a direct response to the activity occurring in the village.
