Guam – A woman who allegedly went on the run after she pleaded guilty to dealing ice will now be representing herself as her attorney has withdrawn as legal counsel.
Attorney David Lujan was set to defend his client, Lovelia Mendoza, at an evidentiary hearing on the alleged violation that she did not adhere to her pre-trial release conditions.
Mendoza pleaded guilty in May last year to possession with intent to distribute but after being placed on pre-trial release, it is alleged that she lied about her medical condition to avoid checking in with probation.
A warrant was issued in December 2017 and she was arrested on January 5, 2018. The violation hearing was supposed to be held on January 30 but on that same day, Lujan filed a motion to withdraw as legal counsel.
As a result, US Magistrate Judge Joaquin Manibusan vacated the hearing and affirmed the court’s order to detain Mendoza pending her sentencing.
With no legal counsel, Mendoza filed a substitution of counsel naming herself as her counsel pro se. That request was granted by Judge Manibusan Wednesday.
