PORT ANGELES — A Forks man who speaks a native Mayan dialect of Guatemala was arrested and faced a court appearance Monday in connection with a fatal stabbing the day before.
Although Forks police said they don’t know the citizenship of Marcelino Godínez Pérez, 27, who was booked Monday morning in Clallam County jail, they said the language barrier with the Mam dialect is hindering the investigation, Police Chief Mike Powell said.
Godínez Pérez is being held for investigation in the stabbing death of Victor Aguilar Godínez, who was described as being in his mid-20s.
The stabbing was the result of a fight outside coach No. 16 in the Rain Forest Mobile Home Park, 1205 Forks Ave. S. on Sunday.
The wrong mobile-home park was identified Sunday by Mayor Nedra Reed reported by news media on Monday.
Powell said the Mam dialect has hindered the Forks police investigation.
“This language barrier has slowed the investigation while detectives seek a qualified translator for the suspect,” he said.
“Border Patrol assisted us with Spanish translation last night,” Powell said Monday, “but we are trying to get some more information on this particular dialect for now.”
At least six proto-Mayan language dialects are spoken in rural Guatemala in addition to nation’s official Spanish, according to the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies.
The Mam dialect is primarily spoken west of the capital of Guatemala City toward the Pacific coast.
Thursday hearing
Godínez Pérez has not been formally charged with the crime, but a court hearing was set for Thursday at 3 p.m. — which could include arraignment if Clallam County prosecutors decide to file formal charges.
The victim was identified late Sunday night as Victor Aguilar Godínez, who was in his mid-20s.
Both Godínez Pérez and the slain Aguilar Godínez, are apparently of Guatemalan descent and no relation, Powell said.
He said he didn’t know their citizenship.
“We do not ask for citizenship information,” he said.
“The Border Patrol was there assisting with translation services only,” he said in a statement.
The two men apparently knew each other.
“They lived only a couple of trailers apart,” Powell said.
Unconscious man
He said that the initial call was an unconscious intoxicated man lying in the grass outside trailer No. 16 at Rain Forest Mobile Home Park.
“There was some drinking going on, so some people just thought he had passed out,” Powell said.
“By the time aid workers got there, he had already become cold.”
Powell said Godínez Pérez lives in trailer No. 16 and Aguilar Godínez lived in trailer No. 6.
“According to witnesses, it sounds like the altercation began in a van, but the windows were dark,” Powell said.
“We’re not really sure exactly what happened or what it was about at this point.”
Aguilar Godínez was stabbed at least one time in the upper left torso.
There also appeared to be a small cut on the inside of his right forearm, officers said.
It was unclear if Aguilar Godínez has any family in the immediate area, Powell said.
The Border Patrol also assisted by providing a tracking dog after Godínez Pérez apparently fled into nearby woods following the stabbing.
After several hours, Godínez Pérez returned to the scene and surrendered to officers without incident, Powell said.
He was booked into Clallam County jail in Port Angeles.
An autopsy is pending and the investigation is continuing, Powell said.
Both Aguilar Godínez and Godínez Pérez harvested salal, the edible shrub that grows in local forests, Powell said.
Jurist’s Spanish
At Monday’s court hearing, Godínez Pérez was read his rights in Spanish by Commissioner Brent Basden, who is the family court judge in Clallam County.
Basden presided instead of one of the three Superior Court judges because none speaks Spanish and a translator could not be found.
During the hearing, Godínez Pérez indicated that while he did speak Spanish, Mam was his primary language.
Basden spoke directly in Spanish to Godínez Pérez during the proceedings, then translated into English for the court reporter and attorneys.
For the initial proceedings — including an arraignment, if one is ordered — a Spanish translator will be sufficient, said Loren Oakley, the suspect’s public defender.
But if the case goes to trial, a Mam translator would be requested, Oakley said.
$500,000 bail
Basden set bail for $500,000 after prosecutor Andrew Lauer requested $1 million bail and Oakley requested no more than $100,000.
“My client is not a man of means, so $1 million would be excessive,” Oakley said.
Powell asked that anyone with additional information about events leading to Sunday’s stabbing to contact Detective Lev Teal at 360-374-2223. ext. 3.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
