Crime & Safety

Pablo Guaman to be Released on GPS, Restricted to Milford

Pablo Dutan Guaman owns the truck that police say was driven by his brother, Nicolas Dutan Guaman, when he struck and killed Matthew Denice. Pablo Guaman is charged with allowing an unlicensed driver to operate a motor vehicle.

An Ecuadorian man charged with allowing his younger brother, Nicolas Dutan Guaman, to drive his pickup, although he knew he was unlicensed, will be released on a GPS monitoring bacelet while his case proceeds.

Nicolas Guaman is now charged with several felonies, including second-degree murder, after he reportedly struck and killled Milford motorcyclist Matthew Denice while operating his brother's Ford F-150. His case is unfolding in Worcester Superior Court.

Pablo Dutan Guaman appeared in Milford District Court on Thursday, after he reportedly violated a condition of his release on his misdemeanor charge, allowing unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. The battery in his GPS had failed, and authorities could not reach him because the family did not have a working phone, according to court documents. This violated a term of his release, and he was arrested by Milford Police on a warrant on Dec. 31.

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He had been held since on $10,000 cash bail.

District Judge Robert Calagione agreed to drop the cash bail, and told attorneys Guaman should comply with the original requirements of his release: including wearing a GPS monitoring bracelet. Calagione refused to allow Pablo Guaman to leave Milford, a request made by a private attorney now representing the Ecuadorian citizen.

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Attorney Francis Doran argued unsuccessfully that his client, a roofer, should be allowed to leave Milford so that he has a better opportunity to find work. Pablo Guaman has a wife and three children, and he wants to support them, Doran said.

As part of the hearing Thursday, Doran handed Judge Calagione a letter from the family's landlord, Hyman Stramer, indicating that he had had electrical repair work done on the building on Dec. 26.

When Assistant District Attorney Bob Shea said Dutan Guaman remained out of compliance five days later, when he was arrested on Dec. 31, Doran angrily challenged him.

"This guy was arrested at his house, serving his three kids breakfast," Doran said. "He's already been in jail for 10 days, unjustifiably."

Shea had wanted the $10,000 cash bail to remain in place, but the judge did not agree. Calagione did refuse to loosen the restrictions on where Guaman can travel. He is to remain in Milford until his case is resolved.

"I won't consider anything else at this point," Calagione said.

The parents of Matthew Denice — Maureen and Michael Maloney — attended the hearing. Pablo Dutan Guaman is expected to be called as a witness in the trial of Nicolas Guaman, and the Denice family wants to make sure he remains available.

 and a witness to the events the night Denice was killed, has already slipped his GPS and fled the country, back to Ecuador. 

"I want to keep him on the GPS," Maureen Maloney said, of Pablo Dutan Guaman. "I don't want to lose another witness."

Doran was named the attorney for Pablo Guaman on Thursday. Outside the courtroom, he said he is being paid to represent Guaman — he is not doing the work "pro bono" — but he would not identify who is paying him.

His client's charge, he said, is a motor vehicle offense and carries a maximum punishment of up to a year in jail. But it typically is resolved with a fine, he said.

Pablo Guaman is not charged in the death of Matthew Denice. That case is a tragedy, Doran said, but he added:

"What has to be examined is what my client has to do with it, and what his responsibilities are," Doran said.

Pablo Guaman is next scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 25 for a pretrial hearing.


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