Mother accused of abandoning newborn baby
HAGATNA, Guam (AP) — A 32-year-old Guam woman is accused of abandoning her newborn baby boy on the doorstep of a stranger’s home.
Naomi Nicole Taisican Omapas was charged Friday with child abuse, family violence and possession of a Schedule II controlled substance, the Pacific Daily News reported.
She was released that same day on a $10,000 personal recognizance bond.
Court documents state Omapas admitted to leaving her baby in the front yard of a home, but they don’t say why she did it.
There is no evidence in the charging documents to support the claim that Omapas intended to abandon her baby, argued Peter Sablan, Omapas’ lawyer.
He asked the court to dismiss the charges, but his request was denied.
The Guam police department found Omapas’ baby at a Dededo residence Tuesday morning. The family told police the baby was left in a laundry basket in front of their home.
The baby was wrapped in a towel and T-shirt, court papers state.
The baby is in government custody and is doing well, officials said.
This week, detectives went back to the neighborhood and found witnesses who reported seeing Omapas in the area before she gave birth.
Officers found Omapas in Dededo and she told them she had given birth at her Dededo home about midnight Tuesday, document state.
Ex-officer pleads guilty to making false insurance claims
HONOLULU (AP) — A former Honolulu police officer suspected of staging a home burglary pleaded guilty to two charges of insurance fraud related to the incident.
Travis E. Copeland pleaded guilty Thursday and faces up to five years in prison for each count.
Copeland will ask the court to defer his guilty pleas and give him the opportunity to avoid conviction, his lawyer said. His sentencing is scheduled for October.
The officer staged a burglary at his Oahu home and then, from October 2017 through March, made insurance claims for the loss of electronics, cash, liquor and jewelry, including engagement and wedding rings, the state’s Insurance Division said. Copeland’s home insurer paid him $4,796.
Copeland also claimed his Mercedes-Benz had been stolen, but eyewitnesses reported seeing it burn nearby.
He admitted to staging the burglary and destroying his vehicle to make false insurance claims before his automobile insurer could pay $13,393 for the claim, the state said.