A Superior Court jury on Thursday found Jathan John Pangelinan Tedtaotao guilty of attempted murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault, and related charges in connection with a violent April 2 attack that left a man with multiple gunshot wounds and other injuries. The conviction marks the Guam Attorney General’s Office’s 65th jury trial win this term.
After nine hours of deliberations, jurors convicted Tedtaotao of attempted murder as a first-degree felony, two counts of kidnapping, aggravated assault as a second-degree felony, and two counts of aggravated assault as third-degree felonies. Each charge carried a special allegation of possession and use of a deadly weapon. Prosecutors will return to court Friday to try an additional allegation that the crimes were committed while Tedtaotao was on felony release.
According to trial evidence, Tedtaotao and two accomplices confronted the victim in Yigo, assaulted him with brass knuckles, zip-tied his hands, and drove him to another location where Tedtaotao shot him in the leg. The attack triggered what officials described as a "shelter-in-place" across several villages as more than 100 law enforcement officers worked to locate and arrest him.
Attorney General Douglas Moylan’s office said it will seek the maximum sentence of 75 years in prison. Tedtaotao, a repeat offender with prior convictions and pending drug and theft charges at the time of the attack, “will face the harshest extent of the law,” Moylan said.