COSTA RICA NEWS — A 23-year-old suspect in the September 26 murder of a judge outside a bar in Guadalupe has been captured, authorities said. The suspect had been sought by police after jumping bail after being convicted of armed robbery.
The suspect was caught on a Limon province farm. This time, prosecutors are asking for preventative detention to prevent another escape. Police say he gunned down Judge Jose Manuel Chinchilla, 54, a jurist specializing in fast-track prosecutions where overwhelming evidence against a defendant exists.
Prosecutors theorize that robbery was the motive for the shooting. Ironically, Judge Chinchilla was drawn to the spot where he was murdered on the sidewalk in front of the bar when he heard sounds of gunfire in a different incident.
Meanwhile, in other court news, seven defendants are scheduled to go on trial Monday in Limon for the shocking murder of a young environmentalist, Jairo Mora. Mora was kidnapped and beaten one night on a lonely Limon beach after having interfered with the turtle egg thievery of some of the defendants.
The hoodie-wearing suspects ambushed Mora and four women environmentalists May 31, 2013. They released his companions after sexually molesting them but murdered the 26-year-old in cold blood. Bands of criminals rove Limon’s poorly patrolled beaches, raiding nest for illegal turtle eggs.
Mora was beaten and left unconscious on the beach to smother with his face in the sand.
Article by iNews.co.cr, reposted with permission
