By Johnnie Rosario
Guam Police officer Chris Champion, the reporting officer on the scene after a red Jeep crashed into and destroyed Jerry's Kitchen on February 25, wrote in the crash report that 30-year-old Nakita T. Aguon was the driver and registered owner of the Jeep. The report was sent to the media over the weekend.
Contrary to Sen. Jose "Pedo" Terlaje's office's claim that his granddaughter, Guam Police officer Joneen Terlaje, was not involved in the crash, Officer Champion wrote in the crash report that Joneen Veronica Hernandez Terlaje, 26, was, in fact, the rear-right side passenger of the Jeep. There were two other passengers, both females. According to Champion's report, all three passengers occupied the back seat of the Jeep.
No one, according to the report, was sitting in the front passenger seat at the time of the crash.
Contrary to police statements to the public that Officer Champion issued the driver a citation for imprudent driving, the crash report indicates she received a simple speeding ticket.
And contrary to video surveillance of the crash clearly showing the Jeep moving in excess of 45 miles per hour and recklessly swerving around a car at the traffic light of the ITC intersection, Mr. Champion stated in his crash report that the driver was only going 40.
Eye witness accounts of sources too afraid of speaking publicly say the women attempted to flee the scene of the crime after backing out of Jerry's destroyed Kitchen. The video corroborates the claim, showing the Jeep attempting to maneuver onto Chalan San Antonio before the driver realizes her tires went flat during the crash.
GPD investigators have this video, according to Kandit's inside man within the Guam Police Department, who provided the never-before-seen-by-the-public footage. "They know crimes were committed," he said, "and the powers-that-be have been scrambling to figure out how to make this whole thing go away."
The video, which Kandit News obtained from a confidential police informant, is taken from an angle that makes it impossible to see whether a fifth person was involved in the crash and fled the scene, or whether the person listed on the crash report as the driver was truly the driver.
Mr.Champion and the other police officers in the four patrol cars that responded the night of the crash did not look at or so much as request for the surveillance footage before closing their investigation around 2:35 a.m. The crash happened at 1:30 a.m., according to Champion's report. The officer arrived at the scene at 1:34 a.m. and began investigating at 1:40 a.m.
During that time, the officers decided there were no factors to compel them to test the sobriety of the supposed-driver, despite the nature of the crash, the location, the time of night and the mere fact that bars had reopened only hours before hand. Mr. Champion's report even indicates the road surface was dry and lighted, and the sky was clear that night.
He marked on the crash report that the traffic light at the intersection, where the Jeep had recklessly swerved around a car waiting for the light to turn green, was working, and that there were no contributing environmental or road circumstances to cause a crash.
Not even an hour after arriving on the scene, Champion dismissed the women, having made no arrests and issuing a simple speeding ticket. Roadside Towing, according to the crash report and witnesses, was quickly allowed to remove the Jeep from the parking lot.
That Jeep, according to sources, is at RJ Auto's in Tamuning, where several police patrol cars also are under repair.
The video surveillance shows several people arriving on the scene in the minutes and hours following the crash.
"It looked like there were some high ranking police officers there," one witness said. "I initially heard that the girls were in the military."
Kandit cannot confirm whether two of the passengers of the Jeep belong to any branch of the military, but we are aware that days before the crash, Officer Joneen Terlaje - Sen. Jose "Pedo" Terlaje's granddaughter - was sworn in to the U.S. Air Force. On the crash report, her colleague, Officer Chris Champion, indicated nothing in the box, where branch of military service is to be checkmarked.
As for the reported driver, Officer Champion indicated in the crash report that she also is the registered owner of the Jeep, a 2020 red Wrangler registered this year and insured by USAA. In the section of the crash report, where the reporting officer is supposed to check mark whether a person in the military is involved, he checkmarked 'No.'
According to USAA's website, in order for a person to have his or her vehicle insured by USAA, they must be either active, retired and honorably separated officers and enlisted personnel of the U.S. military. Spouses and children of service members also qualify for USAA membership.
