Puerto Rico News Digest For July 20, 2016

MAN CONVICTED FOR CARJACKINGS AND MURDER

From US Attorney's Office:

Today, Carmelo Velázquez-Aponte a.k.a. “Boty,” was found guilty of four
carjackings, carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence
(carjacking), and possession of a stolen firearm...According to the testimony
on June 18, 2011, the defendant stole the licensed firearm belonging to Rich-
ardson Mieses-Pimental and his vehicle, and then executed him. After that
event, Velázquez-Aponte committed other carjackings. During his attempt to
escape his arrest on June 20, 2011, he also stole a police officer’s gun and shot
a Police officer. The defendant also stole a police cruiser and engaged in two
other shootouts with police officers, until he was arrested. The defendant fired
the stolen weapons at the police officers..."

PREPA CUTS POWER AT HOUSING PROJECTS

From The San Juan Daily Star:

"In keeping with the eff ort to collect unpaid bills, the Public Housing
Administration (AVP by its Spanish acronym) announced Monday that
during the past week electrical service has been suspended to clients in
public housing projects in the regions of Mayagüez, Arecibo, Caguas
and Ponce. The AVP also announced that more than 30,000 public hou-
sing residents are late in paying their electricity bills. The heavily indeb-
ted Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) said nearly 170 cus-
tomers were affected by Monday’s action..."

UPR PROFESSOR SKEPTICAL OF NALED SPRAYING

From Caribbean Business:


"The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has exaggerated the risk levels
associated with the Zika virus to justify the aerial spraying of the insecti-
cide Naled over Puerto Rico, a University of Puerto Rico (UPR) profes-
sor said Tuesday. Cruz María Nazario, a professor in the Department of
Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Puerto Rico Medical
Sciences campus, accused the CDC of a lack of scientific rigorousness,
following CDC statements that allegedly overstate the risk for pregnant
women with the Zika virus of having babies with microcephaly. “The le-
vel of risk that has been employed to put fear in communities is wrong,”
said the UPR professor during a press conference in which other academ-
ics and politicians discussed the dangers of Naled, a substance that has
been banned for several years in the European Union..."

PIERLUISI: TASK FORCE CHAIR TO BE NAMED

From News Is My Business:

"Puerto Rico’s Resident Commissioner in Washington, Pedro Pierluisi, said
Tuesday that U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan could name the lawmaker who
will steer the work of the Puerto Rico Congressional Task Force this week.
With that person in place, the Task Force created by the Puerto Rico Oversi-
ght,  Management and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) will begin wor-
king in a more formal manner, he said. The eight Congressional lawmakers
who will sit on the Task Force — Pierluisi, Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-NJ),
Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI), Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), Sen. Marco Rubio
(R-FL), Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Sen. Bob Menéndez (D-NJ), and Sen.
Bill Nelson (D-FL) — were announced last week, and have been communi-
cating informally since, Pierluisi added..."

Individual Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison for His Participation in a Carjacking Murder

Press Release

US Attorney's Office - San Juan

SAN JUAN, P.R. –Luis Antonio Crespo-Santos was sentenced to 18 years
in prison for his participation in the carjacking and murder of security guard
Jorge R. De Jesús-Ayala, announced Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, United
States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. Defendant Crespo-Santos pled
guilty on January 21, 2016.

On June 9, 2012 the defendant and four others planned to assault the victim
at his job located at Paseo del Rey Condominium Complex in Carolina, Pu-
erto Rico. The four others were Ashdrian, Yankee, Gamalier and Mikey/Mi-
chael, who are still at large. Gamalier had sold the victim a laptop and he still
owed money to Gamalier. The individuals planned to go see De Jesús-Ayala
to charge him for the laptop but he didn’t have the money.

Gamalier pulled a gun, pointed it at De Jesús-Ayala and told him “you are
coming with us.” Ashdrian, Yankee, and Gamalier covered the victim’s head
with a t-shirt, bound his hands behind his back with an electrical cord, and
forced him into the back seat of his red 2010 Toyota Yaris. They drove to a
wooded area in Carolina and stabbed him in the back and slit his throat.

Later that night, the police received information that individuals were disman-
tling a vehicle fitting the description of De Jesús-Ayala’s vehicle. Police offi-
cers responded to the location and observed a minor and the defendant disma-
ntling the vehicle. The body of De Jesús-Ayala was later found near Urbaniz-
ation Metropolis in Carolina.

“Federal and local law enforcement officers will continue working together
to fight violent crime in Puerto Rico,” said US Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodrí-
guez-Vélez. “We will not rest until we find the other co-conspirators invol-
ved in this vicious crime and prosecute them to the full extent of the law.”

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney José Contreras.

Puerto Rico News Digest For June 10, 2016

SUPREME COURT: PR NOT SOVEREIGN

From Caribbean Business:

"The Supreme Court says Puerto Rico remains a U.S. territory without the
independent powers of a sovereign state when it comes to enforcement of
criminal law. The justices’ 6-2 ruling on the Puerto Rico v. Sánchez Valle
case says Congress is the ultimate source of the island’s legal power even
though Puerto Rico has its own constitution. “The Double Jeopardy Clause
bars Puerto Rico and the United States from successively prosecuting a sin-
gle person for the same conduct under equivalent criminal laws,” reads the
court’s decision, which was released Thursday morning..."

US HOUSE PASSES 'PROMESA' BILL

The U.S. House of Representatives passed bill HR5278, more commonly kn-

own as 'Promesa' yesterday evening by a vote of  297-127. The bill would es-

tablish an unelected financial control board which would be involved in restr-

ucturing Puerto Rico's $70 billion in debt and managing the territory's finances. 

'Promesa' now goes to the Senate, and if approved there, would go then to Pre-

sident Obama, whose signature would turn the bill into law. Puerto Rico has a 

$2 billion debt payment due on July 1, and it is hoped that the bill can be sig-

ned into law by that time. 'Promesa' has been controversial on the island, with 

supporters claiming it is necessary to avoid a complete economic meltdown, 

while opponents have expressed concerns over Puerto Rico's government sp-

ending being under the control of an unelected board.

COUPLE ARRESTED FOR CARJACKING

From US Attorney's Office:

"A federal grand jury returned a one-count indictment [on Wednesday] agai-
nst two individuals for carjacking, announced United States Attorney Rosa
Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is in charge of
the investigation. The indictment alleges that on or about June 2, 2016, in the
District of Puerto Rico, Bernard Díaz-Pérez and Jessenia Salgado-Ortiz, aid-
ing and abetting each other, with the intent to cause death and serious bodily
harm, did take a motor vehicle, to wit: a red 2008 Scion, model XD, that had
been transported, shipped or received in interstate or foreign commerce, from
the presence of F.N.R., by force, violence and intimidation, resulting in serious
bodily injury, that is, sexually assaulting a female passenger, all while using a
replica gun..."

PR LURES LGBT TOURISTS DESPITE ZIKA

From PRTC:

"The Puerto Rican Tourism Company (PRTC) is currently reporting a 100%
occupancy rate for local hotel partners in Boquerón, Puerto Rico—and the su-
rrounding areas on the west coast—with no reported cancellations, as travelers
flock to Puerto Rico in celebration of LGBT Pride weekend. Dozens of hotels
in the west region are currently booked to capacity in the area where key Pride
activities are taking place from June 9-12, 2016, even with heightened Zika
awareness..."

Man Sentenced To 30 Years For Carjacking And Murder

Press Release

US Attorney's Office - San Juan

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Kenneth Ubiles-Rosario was sentenced to 365
months in prison for a carjacking that resulted in death, announced United
States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vé-
lez. Ubiles-Rosario pleaded guilty on January 13, 2015 before U.S. Magis-
trate Judge Bruce McGiverin.

The indictment, filed on November 6, 2013, charged Ubiles-Rosario and a
coconspirator with carjacking and possession of a firearm during the commi-
ssion of a crime of violence. According to the statement of facts in the plea
agreement, defendant Ubiles Rosario and his co-defendant met on October
21, 2010 and agreed to commit a robbery. The next day they intercepted the
victim, Luis Anibal Torres-González, a local businessman, as he drove along
his customary route. The defendants forced the victim to a stop and Ubiles
exited his own car and forced the victim at gunpoint into the passenger seat.
Ubiles and his co-defendant took the victim to a secluded spot by the side of
a cliff near the Lago Dos Bocas in Arecibo, PR and forced the victim out of
the car at gunpoint. Ubiles shot the victim once in the back of the head with
a revolver and left the victim at the bottom of a cliff. Afterwards the defend-
ants abandoned the victim’s car in an urbanization in Arecibo.

The case was investigated by FBI and the Puerto Rico Police Department
and was prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney Nicholas Cannon.

Individual Pleads Guilty To Carjacking Murder

Press Release 

Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Ángel Ayala-Dávila (“Ayala-Dávila”), 19,  pled guilty
to Count One of an information which charged him, aided and abetted by others,
with the carjacking murder of Roy Figueiredo-Ramos, announced Rosa Emilia
Rodríguez-Vélez, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. As part
of the plea  agreement the parties have recommended a sentencing range of 24 to
30 years’ imprisonment.

On September 8, 2013, Roy Figueiredo-Ramos (“victim”), arrived at  the Las Da-
lias Public Housing Project (“LDPHP”) in San Juan, PR, driving a grey 2002 To-
yota Camry, which he parked in front of building 29 of LDPHP. Co-defendant
Victor Miguel Duluc-Méndez, charged in a separate indictment, approached the
victim and inquired if he was interested in selling the vehicle. The victim replied
that he was not, but that he was willing to rent it.  Shortly thereafter, Ayala-Dávila
joined the conversation. Ayala-Dávila expressed he liked the 2002 Toyota Camry.

Duluc, Ayala-Dávila and another unknown male stepped away from the victim’s
vehicle and started planning how to take the vehicle and keep it for themselves.
Ayala-Dávila went into his apartment and grabbed a .40 caliber Smith & Wesson
pistol. Thereafter, Duluc, Ayala-Dávila and others took the victim’s car by force.
Duluc drove the victim’s vehicle with victim in the front passenger seat, and Ayala-
Dávila sat in the rear right passenger seat behind victim.

Duluc eventually drove the victim’s vehicle to the Banco Popular Branch located
at Plaza Escorial shopping center, along with Ayala-Dávila and the victim. He par-
ked the vehicle in Banco Popular’s parking lot.  Ayala-Dávila requested the vic-
tim’s ATM card and the PIN number. The victim complied and gave the ATM card
and PIN number to Duluc, who went to the ATM machine and withdrew $150.00.

Once the money was withdrawn, Duluc departed the Banco Popular Branch along
with the victim and Ayala-Dávila. Duluc drove towards Trujillo Alto, PR, stopping
in a rural area between Trujillo Alto and Carolina.  Ayala-Dávila told the victim to
step out to verify whether the vehicle had a flat tire. The victim and Ayala-Dávila
exited the vehicle. The victim verified the front right tire of the vehicle and, as he
turned around in the direction of Ayala-Dávila, Ayala-Dávila produced the pistol,
pointed it at the victim’s head and fired one shot. The victim  died as a result of
this gunshot wound.

After shooting the victim, Ayala-Dávila got into the front right passenger side of
the victim’s vehicle, and Duluc drove them back to LDPHP. Ayala-Dávila proclai-
med that the victim’s vehicle belonged to him because he had been the one who
killed the victim.

“The senseless crime that these men committed had fatal consequences,” said
United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vé-
lez.  “Ayala-Dávila’s guilty plea brings us a step closer to bringing justice and
closure to the victim and his family.”

The sentencing hearing is scheduled for August 26, 2015. The case is being prose-
cuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia Díaz-Rex. Victor Miguel Duluc-Méndez
pled guilty on May 1st, 2014; his sentencing is scheduled for June 25, 2015.  He
faces a sentence of 30 years.


USAO - District of Puerto Rico