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Aug
26
Violence Causes Spotlight to Fall on Puerto Viejo
August 26, 2008 | Tags: Crime & Punishment | Leave a Comment
 Self-proclaimed hitman, Gordo Malo. Photo by Nick Wilkinson courtesy of Tico Times |
Continued violent crime in our community has caused even more negative media attention, and has the community talking about a provocative news article published in Costa Rica’s English language weekly, The Tico Times.
The latest incident claimed two persons in a fight which turned deadly on Aug 15 at Stanford’s Restaurant when the combatants started firing (see La Nación: Dos rivales fallecen en un intercambio de balas en bar). This event, like most of the dramatic headline crime events, involved criminal gang members fighting it out for control.
But the continued violent crime has also got local residents and tourists worried. Not least because of the still unresolved case of the rapist who was victimizing female tourists on Playa Chiquita. While there have been no more of those events reported recently, there have been no arrests made either. Community leaders have called for the suspect to be held under preventative detention while the matter is investigated but to no avail. The suspect has apparently been under closer supervision from his family instead which may account for no more incidents.
The Tico Times featured Puerto Viejo in this week’s issue as their top story. The story, entitled Fear and Loathing in Puerto Viejo (original article here or archived here), has the community talking, not the least because the article accused local real estate agent Manuel Pinto of considering hiring a hit man, after his family was assaulted, a charge Pinto vehemently denies. “[The statement has] been completely taken out of context and is absolutely and unconditionally false,” says Pinto. He continues that “Despite our deep and extreme frustrations (the important theme of the article) with the legal system that has all but ignored us and in many cases aggravated our situations, we continue to use all legal options and avenues to resolve the threats made against us. This is a long and painful process – but one we are committed to and are fully engaged into.” You can read his full response here.
The article then goes on to interview a local self-proclaimed hit man Magno Enrique Beñavides, known as Gordo Malo, for his opinion on the violence.
Hopefully all the talk and attention on the situation will actually result in some substantive changes to the way the police and justice system operate.
Jul
8
Suspected Rapist Still Walking Streets of Puerto Viejo
July 8, 2008 | Tags: Crime & Punishment | 3 Comments
The serial rapist who judicial officials believe has preyed on at least seven women including a 16-year old girl is still walking the streets in Puerto Viejo, they said.
Agents believe they know who the rapist is, said a judicial official Wednesday. But the one case that may have enough evidence for a conviction, hasn’t even gotten the suspect in preventative detention. Instead the suspect must simply sign in to the prosecutor every 15 days, said a court spokeswoman.
In January of 1997, a court sentenced the suspect, Rolando Alonso Brown Humphreys, to 13 years in prison for rape. Brown only served six of those 13 years, said Guillermo Bermúdez, the regional director of the Judicial Investigation Organization in Limón. “His sentence was probably cut in half for good behavior. He may have swept the floors and helped clean,” said Bermúdez. Brown was released in 2003.
Since 2003, eight women have reported rapes or attempted rapes in the Puerto Viejo area, said Bermúdez. Three of the reported rapes were this year, said the Limón judicial director.
And officials believe there may be more victims. “Many may not have reported the crime since they left the country or were scared,” said César Villalobos, the regional judicial director of the Judicial Investigation Organization in Bribri. After numerous lab results came back inconclusive or negative, officials did not have enough evidence to arrest anyone, said Villalobos. Many times the rapist has covered the victims face with a cloth to preserve his identity. He preys mainly on women not from the area, such as tourists, said officials.
Many of the women reported that the rapist approached them and asked them where they were from, according to Bermúdez. He then attempts to speak English with the victim, said the judicial official. The man then covers the victim’s face, many times with an article of their her clothing, said Bermúdez. He proceeds to rape her and ask her questions as he rapes her, said Bermúdez
In 2003, Brown served eight more months of preventative prison in an attempted rape case, said Bermúdez. The outcome was uncertain.
Judicial agents have investigated Brown in the rape of a 16 year old girl and a 55-year-old woman from the United States, among others, said Bermúdez. Five out of the seven victims were foreigners, added the judicial official. The majority of the reported victims are in their 20s, said Bermúdez, there was also a 36-year-old victim, he said.
One victim who fought off the rapist in March, reported the crime and named Brown as the suspect, officials said. However, officials seemed to be confused as to whether the crime was an attempted rape or a robbery.
Somehow when the victim filed the complaint about an attempted rape, the case was filed as a “robbery” by a judge in Bribri, said Eddie Ryan, vice president of the Cámara de Turismo de Puerto Viejo. Whether the woman was in a state of shock, the judicial complaint was unclear or the judge made an error is not known, said Ryan, who has been active in the case. The townspeople have been active, too, and sent a petition to the president of the Corte Suprema de Justicia, Luis Paulino Mora Mora, according to Ryan.
Bermúdez also said he had the complaint listed as a robbery. A court spokeswoman, however said the prosecutor in Bribri is calling the crime a rape. The suspect, must sign in every 15 days, must not approach the victim and must remain at home, said the spokeswoman. The spokeswoman did not know if the crime had previously been labeled as a robbery, she said, but the duration of the restrictive measures have been extended for three more months.
Group of Women form network to support victims of sexual violence
In related news, a group of area women have begun meeting to form a network in order to support women who’ve experienced sexual violence.
They have two main objectives.
1. To create a resource network to help victims of sexual violence both with the legal and therapeutic ramifications.
2. To work with local youth in order to open a dialog about sexual abuse and its prevention.
The group will meet again in September. The group is an anonymous one due to the delicacy of this issue. If you or a friend has experienced sexual violence and need some help, if you have professional experience in situations like this, or if you are interested in getting involved to lend a hand to those in need; contact ATEC and they’ll get you into contact with the group.
Sources
A.M. Costa Rica: Judge declines to confine the Puerto Viejo rape suspect
Greencoast News: Women’s Group Forms
Jun
16
Two Cahuita Policemen Arrested on Suspicion of Involment in Murder
June 16, 2008 | Tags: Crime & Punishment | Leave a Comment
 Two police officers are arrested. Photo by Mario Rojas courtesy of La Nacion |
Two policement in Cahuita, with the last names Cortés and Angulo, have been arrested on suspicion of their involvement in the murder of two men and the attempted murder of two others. Two other policemen are being sought for questioning in the same case.
This follows the deaths of 23-year-old Roy Gerardo Sotera Prenderas and 16-year-old Natanael Obregón Rodríguez, and the injury of two other men who apparently escaped death only by pretending to be dead. The two injured men, brothers Alexánder Dixon Obregón, 22, and Ricardo Armando Dixon Obregón, 25, are in hospital under police guard.
The policemen themselves are not directly accused of the murders but investigators from the justice division (OIJ) are speculating that the police caught the 4 men and then turned them over to gang members who went on to torture the 4 men and kill 2 in what was apparently drug-trafficking related gang violence.
The murdered men were discovered still wearing police-issue handcuffs. Their bodies showed signs of torture.
Investigators discovered a bag with $80,000 in cash burried in the yard of one of the accused officers, leading investigators to believe that the killings had some relationship with the drug trade.
More:
La Nacion: Policías en Limón fueron reclutados por banda de narcos
A.M. Costa Rica: Police officers are suspects in twin Cahuita murder
Nov
7
Body Discovered Under Concrete Floor During Renovations
November 7, 2007 | Tags: Crime & Punishment | Leave a Comment
 OIJ Agents remove the remains Photo by Martin Caraval, courtesy La Nacion |
Construction workers on Monday renovating a house in the Playa Negra area of Puerto Viejo made a gruesome discovery: a body in a green plastic bag which was buried underneath a concrete slab.
Witnesses said that the body had a very bad smell and still had a lot of hair. Characteristics which make investigators believe the body has not been there for a very long time. At this time investigators from the Judicial Investigating Organization (OIJ) have been unable to identify the body, saying only that it appears to be a man.
The remains were taken to the forensic lab in San Joaquín de Flores, Heredia for analysis to determine the date and cause of death. Meanwhile the OIJ is reviewing their missing persons files to see if the victim matches any of those listed as missing.
“I bought this house because it was the house of my dreams. I always wanted to have a beachfront house, but instead I feel very bad, very frustrated by all of this…”, said Joe Lawrence, the American owner of the property along with his wife.
Speaking at a news conference in San Jose, Jorge Rojas, director of the OIJ, said that the U.S. couple has owned the house for two years, but that does not mean that the body has been under the concrete that long. At least eight other persons have access to the house, and the U.S. pair are not in the community all the time.
They were planning to build a kitchen with a view of the sea in the area where the remains were discovered.
The body was located by coincidence by 2 workers, one of those, Cecilio Brown, who said he had “a huge shock because he would never have expected something like this”.
“When I saw the bag, I thougth the I had found a treasure, but when we opened it, a foul odor emerged and we saw some bones and a lot of hair”, he related.
The OIJ was also analyzing the case of a private security guard who disappeared 2 years ago in Puerto Viejo, very close to the house of the discovery.
With reporting from:
- La Nacion: Localizan restos de persona sepultados debajo de piso
- A.M. Costa Rica: Search on to provide a name for body that was found under slab in Puerto Viejo
Sep
21
Murder-Suicide leaves 2 dead in Cahuita
September 21, 2007 | Tags: Crime & Punishment | 3 Comments
 Authorities from OIJ in Limón remove the body of McCloud, Sunday at 12:30 p.m. Photo by Marvin Carvajal, courtesy of La Nacion. |
A dispute between two brothers in Cahuita last weekend left both dead. The murdered man is well known Cahuita businessman Hernán Horacio Spencer McLoud, owner of Cabinas Spencer. He was 46 years old.
Witnesses staying at the cabinas heard an initially unknown man arrive at the cabinas at 8:05pm Saturday. A brief discussion between the two men was followed by several shots were fired and then the man fled. The victim managed to get to the nearby house of some relatives who brought him to the Hone Creek Clinic where he was pronounced dead. He had 3 bullet wounds in his back and 1 in his shoulder.
The police initially believed the incident was a robbery by a gang operating in the area. A wide investigation was launched, including setting up roadblocks. Freddy Santamaría, chief of the Frontier Police, said that the situation was initially confused and there were conflicting reports of the incident.
On Sunday morning the police and OIJ agents searched the home of the victim’s brother, of last name McCloud, and found the 61 year old man dead in his home. Beside him was apparently the same 22 calibre gun used to take his own life and that of this brother.
Sep
13
ICT & Chamber of Tourism Free Security Seminar
September 13, 2007 | Tags: Community Calendar, Crime & Punishment | Leave a Comment
| September 26, 2007 | ||
| 2:00 pm | to | 5:00 pm |
ICT in collaboration with the Tourism Board CATCAS has prepared a seminar for Wednesday Sept 26 between 2pm and 5pm (including a coffee break) at the Hotel Punto Cocle. This free seminar regarding tourist security will be presented by Sr Miguel Palacios. an expert in this area. This seminar is intended for owners and managers of hotels and restaurants, private security companies and other interested community memebers.
If you’d like to attend please RSVP to 370 3966 or by email to turismocaribesur@yahoo.com.
Sep
5
Tourist Police Harass Tourists, Not Criminals
September 5, 2007 | Tags: Crime & Punishment, Opinion | Leave a Comment
It’s not always the criminals that are a problem. Sometimes it is the police. Recently on more than one occasion local Puerto Viejo Tourist Police have been observed shaking down tourists that are caught smoking marijuana on Cocles Beach. They wait and watch to see who is lighting up a joint and then proceed to threaten them with arrest hoping that the tourist will just pay them off.
Local businesses (especially hotels) are enraged. They can not believe all the time and effort they have been doing in working with police (both tourist and regular police) in order to combat and prosecute criminals and this is how tourist police are spending their efforts.
Local security representatives have expressed their concern with police officials and they were informed that the Tourist Police were not adequately supervised.
Local security representatives are now encouraging all hotels that have guests that have been harassed by police for bribe money to encourage guest to participate in pressing a charge against them. They are also encouraging residents and businesses to ask local police what is going on with these types of incidents and what types of programs they are involved in protecting tourists rather then harassing them.
Sep
4
Update from the Citizen’s Security Committee
September 4, 2007 | Tags: Community News, Crime & Punishment | Leave a Comment
 Fernando Berrocal, Minister of Public Security Photo courtesy La Nacion |
Back on August 3, we told you about a showdown between the Puerto Viejo police and private security guards hired by local residents and tourism business owners. The guards were hired as an attempt by locals concerned with escalating crime.
The Citizen’s Security Committee of Puerto Viejo now reports that the problems with the police have been resolved in a meeting with the Minister of Public Security, Fernando Berrocal and his advisors. In the meeting the Minister committed to give the order that the Polilce work with the private guards in an initiative called Strategic Alliance of Mutual Cooperation
The committee wants to remind everyone that after just 15 days of work, the Community Security effort had reduced practically to nothing the occurrence of armed assaults and delinquency, something no one had dreamed of and for which we have to recognize the efforts of the company that was employed.
But they’re looking for committed support to maintain the program. They are asking businesses that still do not participate that they need everyone’s support, since we all benefit from this program because it protects our source of income, tourism.
The initiative initially started with 5 officials patrolling on foot from 8 pm to 5 am, with 2 motorized officials for support. Unfortunately, they have had to reduce personnel due to lack of resources, because some businesses decided to pay only half of what they had promised. Because of this lack of commitment of some businesses and because the company didn’t have its papers in order, the program has been on hold since August 16th until they can contract a new company.
Here is what the committee is asking for:
- •If all of the businesses that entered in the initiative would make their payments, we can continue the program: for your information, for the month of August half of the businesses have not paid up.
- •If the security program is to continue, it is essential that each sector is organized and pays its guard(s). Sectors that do not organize and pay will not be protected by the program, which puts everyone at risk since the situation can go back to what it was: assaults and impunity
- •We want to emphasize that peace in the community and protection of our income source is the responsibility of all of us and for all of our benefit. If we do not understand this fundamental truth, we deserve to continue living the way we were just a few months ago and have no right to complain.
If you’d like to read the full communication from the committee, you can download the letter here: English | español.
Aug
30
Shooting suspects ordered held in preventative custody
August 30, 2007 | Tags: Crime & Punishment | Leave a Comment
 The suspects tried to flee in this car. Photo courtesy Marvin Carvajal for La Nacion |
The three suspects in the double murder last week in Puerto Viejo have been ordered detained in preventative custody for 3 months pending the outcome of the investigation into the crime. They are being held in Limon.
The three suspects have been identified only by their last names: Hernandez and two brothers with the last name Angulo. Hernandez was apparently shot in the abdomen by one of the victims, Marvin Arroyo García, before he died. Hernandez was arrested when he was dropped off at a clinic by the other two suspects. The two brothers were arrested at a road block.
Investigators are calling the shooting the result of a personal quarrel between the parties involved.
Read the source: La Nación: Tres van a la cárcel por doble crimen en Limón
Aug
24
Shooting leaves 2 dead, 1 injured, 3 arrested in Puerto Viejo
August 24, 2007 | Tags: Crime & Punishment | 2 Comments
 Injured suspect who was shot in the abdomen. Photo by Marvin Carvajal, courtesy of La Nación |
A shooting Wednesday about 9:30pm in Puerto Viejo left 2 people dead, another injured and 3 suspects under arrest. The incident happened as the Costa Rica-Peru soccer match was winding up on TV. According to witnesses and investigators from the OIJ, four men drove up to the house of one of the victims. Two remained in the car and two went inside and shot the man and his friend. Apparently fire was returned by one of the victims before he died and one of his attackers was shot in the abdomen.
The victims have been identified as Marvin Arroyo García 46 years old, whose house it was, and Luis Eduardo Monestel Avilés, 40 years old. The injured man has been identified only by his last name, Hernández and age, 31 years old. He was arrested when he sought medical care for his injury at the Hone Creek clinic. Two other suspects were arrested at a police road block.
Local talk is that both the victims and their attackers were involved in the drug trade and that the incident was likely some sort of dispute between rivals. The event has actually left some locals feeling safer; that a number of criminals have been taken off the streets.
In an odd twist, the story was reported this morning in A.M. Costa Rica with the headline “Two men on Caribbean coast killed by home invaders”. This implies a home invasion style robbery, which is not a version of events that either witnesses or police or even the account on A.M. Costa Rica itself bear out.
We expect to report more on this story as it develops.
Links to the other reports:
- La Nación: Balacera deja dos muertos en Limón
- A.M. Costa Rica: Two men on Caribbean coast killed by home invaders
Aug
19
Drug Dealer Arrested
August 19, 2007 | Tags: Crime & Punishment | Leave a Comment
La Nación reported Friday that a 31 year old man, identified only as Rosi, was arrested for dealing drugs in Puerto Viejo. Found in a search of his home was cocaine and 2 m tall marijuana plants as well as a pistol and ammunition.
Read the full article (in Spanish): La Nación: Detenido vendedor de drogas en playa.
Aug
3
Police Clash With Local Private Security
August 3, 2007 | Tags: Community News, Crime & Punishment, Government and Politics | 1 Comment
In today’s La Nacion & and Local Channel 7 news, they covered a meeting that took place in Puerto Viejo with heads of local police, private security and local business representatives from the Puerto Viejo area. Local police officials looked surprised by the presence of media and were very cautious in their responses to local business reprsentatives and media.
It seems that having private security firm help patrolling Puerto Viejo center had very immediate successful results in lowering the crime rate in town. These private security patrols were financed by local businesess and was to work in conjunction with local police.
The success was however shortlived as police officials first stripped security guards of arms, then night sticks and then even made them remove security shirts that identified them after rounding them all up and taking them all to the police station.
Despite clear success of the program, it still remains unclear why local police officials would hamper these efforts, especially since it was made clear by the security minister months ago, that the only way Costa Rica could provide security level needed to protect tourists was in partnership with private security.
Police officials are now supposed to be meeting with local private security to come up with solution to work together. We hope to report the results of that meeting here shortly.
Read the story from La Nación (in Spanish): Hoteleros de Puerto Viejo critican a Fuerza Pública.
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