On Saturday, criminal charges were brought against Guam Office of Civil Defense Administrator Charles Vincent Esteves.

Esteves was briefly detained by federal authorities over the weekend stemming from a March incident in a Washington, D.C., hotel involving the alleged assault of a woman known to him.

The charges against Esteves involve allegations of domestic violence, according to a Superior Court of the District of Columbia criminal complaint and warrant issued for his arrest on May 1. Esteves appeared in the District Court of Guam for an “initial appearance on a petition for writ of removal” to extradite him to Washington, D.C., where the report was filed.

According to the affidavit to support the arrest, Esteves reportedly became enraged over a comment made by his ex-girlfriend while the two were alone in the woman’s hotel room on March 23.

“At approximately 0300 hours, the victim and the defendant were inside the victim’s hotel room at the Washington Hilton. … The defendant became upset with the victim, who was lying on the bed. He straddled her, pulled her hair, and placed both hands around her neck, squeezing and leaving visible marks. The defendant eventually stopped, then urinated on the bed and the victim’s clothing from her luggage. During the incident, he also made threats to kill the victim’s family,” court documents said.

Charging documents noted that the woman had been in an “on-and-off relationship” with Esteves for five years.

“At approximately 0300 hours on March 23, 2025, while in bed, the victim and defendant had a conversation during which she mentioned occasionally faking orgasms. This angered the defendant, who, while yelling at the victim, straddled her as she was laying down on her back on the bed. The defendant then began to pull her hair, and placed both hands around her neck, and began to choke the victim, causing minor pain and redness,” the court documents said.

The alleged incidents were reportedly recorded, and the video handed over to Third District Police Station detectives on April 11.

“The victim began recording the incident on her phone, hiding it under the bed, and later provided the video to detectives. She stated that the defendant continued yelling, threatened to kill her family, and attempted to damage the room, though she prevented significant destruction. The defendant also urinated on the bed and her clothing,” court documents said.

Detectives confirmed the woman’s statements with a review of the video recording.

“In the recording, the victim is heard asking the suspect, 'Why did you pull my hair? Why did you slap me?' and repeatedly telling the defendant to stop,” Third District Police detectives said.

In the audio recording, D.C. police reported Esteves made a remark about the faking orgasms and told the woman he didn’t care that he hurt her.

According to the affidavit, the facts and circumstances presented warranted Esteves' arrest on misdemeanor intrafamily or domestic violence offenses.

On May 17, Esteves appeared in the District Court of Guam with his attorney, William Brennan, and was charged with simple assault.

Court transcripts show that the hearing centered around jurisdiction and Esteves’ removal on an arrest warrant by the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, which is treated as a “state court.” But that matter is to be further discussed at a status hearing set for Tuesday, May 20.

When asked, GHS/OCD Spokesperson Jenna Gaminde Blas confirmed GHS/OCD was aware of Esteves’ arrest and was moving forward with operations as usual.

“The Offices of Guam Homeland Security and (Office of) Civil Defense are aware of the situation, but unable to provide further details at this time. GHS/OCD continues normal operations and remains committed to upholding the integrity of our mission. No further comment will be made while the matter proceeds through the appropriate legal channels,” Blas said on Saturday.

Esteves was released on personal recognizance and ordered to comply with any restraining order in effect.

The charges against Esteves add to charges he already faces in a separate local Superior Court of Guam case.

Post files show that in the months leading up to his arrest, Esteves was accused of corruption by local authorities, namely the Office of the Attorney General, who filed the complaint that resulted in a true bill finding cause to charge in the Superior Court of Guam.

Esteves, along with four other high-level GHS/OCD officials, was charged with certifying officer malfeasance and official misconduct as misdemeanors among other charges, following discrepancies uncovered by two investigative audits conducted by the Office of Public Accountability in 2024.

Post files state that the audits found discrepancies with grant funding and problems involving overtime.

The former found that agencies owed $8.4 million to the general fund and noted $34.7 million in questioned costs identified by an auditing firm hired by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In the latter audit, the OPA questioned $2.8 million in overtime costs charged to GHS/OCD accounts.