Ate Guy’s drug trial in US postponed

WASHINGTON — A Los Angeles Superior Court has postponed for one month a preliminary hearing for film star Nora Aunor, charged with illegal possession of methamphetamine, to allow her lawyers more time to receive an independent laboratory report on the police evidence against her.

The court also granted a request by Aunor’s lawyers for her to have a Filipino interpreter present during the hearings.

Chief defense counsel Claire Espina said Thursday she filed a request for a portion of the police evidence "so we can test it" after Aunor appeared before Judge Paula Adele Maybrey for the first time last April 21 and pleaded not guilty.

Espina said the court approved their request "but as of today we don’t have the results, hence the postponement of the preliminary hearing from May 26 to June 27."

Aunor, Nora Cabaltera Villamayor in real life, was arrested on March 30 at the Los Angeles International Airport allegedly in possession of 7.7 grams of methamphetamine inside a film container in her carry-on bag.

Earlier reports said airport screeners also found a glass pipe wrapped in a T-shirt.

She was on her way back to her San Francisco Bay area home after a business trip to Los Angeles. She was released after posting $10,000 bail.

"We need independent confirmation that it is indeed contraband that she had and that it is indeed 7.7 grams, as the police claim," Espina said.

Asked if Aunor were not fluent in English, Espina, in a telephone interview with The STAR, bristled at what she said was an implicit suggestion that her client’s request for an interpreter was a form of "legal maneuvering."

"I cannot speak for what the client understands. I can only say that (for) a person with a sixth-grade education, which is what the client has, it is important for her to fully understand especially difficult legal concepts and procedures," she said.

Espina added that "out of an abundance of caution I would want to have a Filipino interpreter there to make sure she understands every step of the way."

She said Maybrey also granted their request to exempt Aunor from appearing in court — once she makes her initial appearance on June 27 — if there is no evidentiary testimony. If the preliminary hearing goes ahead and the prosecution meets its burden of proof and the court finds Aunor should be bound for trial, then the defense will have to decide whether to go ahead with the proceedings or plea bargain, Espina said.