He was indicted by a grand jury back in December, and today he answered to the charges.

Former Department of Corrections deputy director and former court marshal for the Superior Court of Guam Joey Alan Acfalle Terlaje pleaded not guilty to felonious restraint as a third degree felony and two charges of official misconduct as a misdemeanor.

Several family members accompanied him to the court as he was scheduled to appear in person for his arraignment, however was denied access due to an "elevated body temperature." Instead, he along with his attorney Jay Arriola tuned in via Zoom from the next building.

Terlaje waived his right to a speedy trial, requested a jury of 12, waived a reading of the indictment, and remains free on a $5,000 personal recognizance bond.

The Office of the Attorney General asked that he be ordered to stay away from the alleged victim along with the Superior Court of Guam's probation and marshal's office, with the exception of his assigned probation officer.

Arriola argued that the request was vague and that his client has family members employed with both offices, and that failing to specify names would set him up for potential violations.

Assistant AG Leonardo Rapadas affirmed that their office would reach out to probation to find out who they intend to assign to Terlaje's case and work with Arriola to ensure it's no one involved.

Arriola further argued that his client's felonious restraint charge was one year beyond the statute of limitations, to which he was ordered by Magistrate Judge Jonathan Quan to address his concerns with Judge Vernon Perez who was assigned to the case.

Terlaje resigned from his position at DOC in Sept. of 2019 after he was named by an FBI agent in federal court related to the indictment of former Yona Mayor Jesse Blas. Blas pleaded guilty to extortion and accepting bribes from a confidential informant posing as a drug trafficker.

According to the FBI agent's testimony, Terlaje was a marshal along with other individuals who were present during an incident where Blas allegedly beat a woman up and held her for three days.

According to the indictment, Terlaje is accused of exposing the victim to risk of serious bodily injury at a barbeque back in 2017 and for ignoring and abusing his position as a government official in relation to a crime committed.

Terlaje is the son of Sen. Pedo Terlaje who chairs the Legislature's Committee on Public Safety. Judge Perez will set the next court hearing date.