Quote:
Vigilante neighbors off to prison while robber walks
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Two separate but significant cases played out in the Costa Rican courts Tuesday.
In one case, five persons who had attacked and fatally injured a man who was ransacking a vehicle each got 20 years in prison for aggravated homicide. The trial court upgraded the charge even though the prosecutor had asked for 12 years of prison each.
The second case was the first of the rapid justice officials promised for persons caught red-handed committing a crime. A man was convicted of robbery for taking a cell phone from a woman in Alajuelita. The security minister praised the process, and the Poder Judicial said that the whole case from robbery to conviction lasted only eight days. The court tribunal sentenced the robber to a year in prison, but he went free under a policy of conditional execution of the sentence for persons with no police record.
Friday the prosecutor in the murder case asked the three-judge panel to convict the five persons and give them each 12 years in prison. The individuals are Siar LenÃn Mayorga Guadamuz, identified by the Poder Judicial as a Nicaraguan, and Costa Ricans Michael Quiros Sánchez, Laura Patricia Arias Torres, Kevin Ledezma Méndez and Ricardo Ledezma Méndez.
They had been tried on an allegation of simple homicide in the beating death of Ricardo Enrique MartÃnez Cedeño, reported to be from Panamá. The death happened May 27, 2007, in Urbanización la Verbena when the victim was trying to steal from a vehicle owned by Quiros, according to the Poder Judicial summary.
The neighbors chased the man, caught him and subjected him to a violent beating in which, according to the cause of death, a knife was used.
As sometimes happens, the trial panel upgraded the charge to aggravated homicide, which carries a longer penalty. Mayorga and Quiros already were in prison, so the court extended their stay. Ms. Arias had been under house arrest, but she was ordered to jail. The Ledezma brothers, who had been free, were ordered jailed.
An appeal to the Sala III supreme criminal court is
almost certain. The sentence will not be final until that decision is rendered.
The case of a man identified as Gredy Alberto Chaves González had a different outcome. He is the first person to be convicted under a new, rapid system for persons caught in the act of committing a crime or caught shortly after with clear evidence that they committed the crime.
The judicial system instituted the procedure Oct. 1, and lawmakers are trying to make the policy permanent by including it in a law. The idea is to speed up the lengthy and bureaucratic judicial process.
The man was in court on an allegation of simple robbery. The Poder Judicial said he took a cell phone from a woman with the last name of Hernández in Alajuelita centro Oct. 6 and fell into the hands of the Fuerza Pública a short time later.
A judge remanded the man to preventative detention that same day.
Chaves agreed to what is known as an abbreviated process, and the prosecutor, known as the FiscalÃa de Flagrancia, agreed to a reduction of the sentence to a third of what it could be. The Tribunal Penal de Flagrancias convicted the man and gave him a year in prison. Flagrancia in Spanish translates to "in the act" or more loosely "red-handed."
Because Chaves has no known criminal record he is being set free with the stipulation that his liberty is conditional on his actions for the next three years.
Both the prosecutor and the robber waived the rights to appeals.
Unrelated to the Chaves case, Janina del Vecchio, the security minister, expressed her satisfaction Tuesday at the results of the speedy justice process.
The Fuerza Pública is within her Ministerio de Gobernación, PolicÃa y Seguridad Pública. Also participating is the San José PolicÃa Metropolitana.
As of Thursday, the minister said, 13 persons have become involved in the speedy justice process for robbery, aggravated theft from tourists, attempted murder, possession of drugs for resale and sex abuse against a minor. Those held are serving from one to four months of preventative detention, she said.
And there's more, regarding vigilante justice. Punterenas has registered 9 murders in the past year. All of the "victims" are known serial ladrones (repeat offenders) who were set free on their own recognizance by the courts. The prime suspects (vigilantes) are a contractor and two employess who were robbed of their tools about a year ago. The first victim of revenge happened to be the "cara piche" who had stolen their tools. The same 3 are primary suspects in the other 8 acts of revenge. It appears they are making better money helping crime victims resolve their problems than they were with their tools.
So, it appears more than a few Ticos are frustrated with the courts. Perhaps they have decided having a parade, complete with the high school marching band and wearing your "best white Sunday go to meetin' shirt" is not the only solution.
I suspect the vigilante justice will be more effective in reducing crime than the courts will ever be! It seems they are "sick and tired of it and not going to take it anymore."
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
Calendar
