SAN JUAN —The Carolina Puerto Rico Prosecutor’s Office is preparing to file charges tomorrow against the man who opened fire and killed another man who cut him off and broke a window of his vehicle with a baseball bat near a high school, the Carolina Criminal Investigation Corps (CIC) said.
Captain Edwin Padilla, director of the Carolina CIC, confirmed to the press that an individual presented himself at 8:00 a.m. Thursday to the offices of the Homicide Division accompanied by his attorney. At that time the unidentified man was served with a summons to appear in Carolina Court on Monday morning (April 11). Padilla declined to identify the 47-year-old for “security reasons.”
“This person appeared before the Carolina Homicide Division, along with his attorney, and availed himself of his right to remain silent,” Padilla said. “On the instructions of the prosecutor Mario Rivera Geigel, his rights were read to him and he was summoned for this Monday in the Carolina Court.”
At the moment, it is unknown what charge or charges Rivera Geigel will file against the man.
The murder of Carlos Misael Clemente Rosario, 36, occurred on the afternoon of Wednesday, April 6, on the Sánchez Osorio Avenue, near the campus of the Dr. Gilberto Concepción de Gracia High School, and the entire event was recorded on video by a security camera located near the scene.
For reasons that remain under investigation, Clemente Rosario drove his Suzuki XL-7 into the Toyota 4Runner that the person who went to the Homicide Division was driving. Once both vehicles stopped, the video shows that Clemente Rosario and the driver of the Toyota 4Runner SUV got out and the victim, with a bat in his hands, proceeded to hit one of the windows of the Toyota 4Runner SUV.
The driver of the 4Runner SUV drew a semi-automatic pistol and, after Clemente Rosario smashed his vehicle with a baseball bat, the suspect fired about five shots at Clemente Rosario, who received several of the projectiles in his back as he tried to flee. After Clemente Rosario fell to the pavement, the driver of the 4Runner walked up to his body and fired another five shots, then turned around, returned to his vehicle and drove away from the scene.
“After the release of the security camera video, we began to receive information and confidences about who this person is,” Padilla explained. “We arrived at the person’s residence on Wednesday and found the 4Runner suv. That night we provided surveillance (to document possible changes or movements of the vehicle) at all times because it was the night that the general blackout occurred.”
“We also managed to communicate by telephone with the person, who told us that he would appear on Thursday afternoon with his lawyer, but he arrived at 8:00 a.m., when we had not yet received the court order authorizing the search and occupation of the vehicle. But we received the signed warrant in the afternoon and proceeded to seize the vehicle, and also raided the person’s residence,” the officer added.
Padilla stressed that prosecutor Rivera Geigel is in the process of analyzing the evidence collected by the agents of the Homicide Division to determine what charges he will file against the man. The director of the Carolina CIC declined to comment on the other pieces of evidence collected.
Padilla did deny that the man confessed to killing Clemente Rosario, since he exercised his right to remain silent. He also denied that the incident occurred due to an alleged “beef” about women between the two.
“It had been mentioned that there was a video of a person at a gas station arguing, as they say, about women, but it is not related to this incident. The theory that there was an argument between the victim and the assailant at a gas station was ruled out. At this time it is under investigation if these people knew each other, ”said Padilla.
“Since the person refused to speak on that day, on the instructions of his attorney, we are continuing to look for more evidence as to whether they knew each other or what led to the altercation. The person who came to our offices is the person who appears in the video; he is fully identified, ”said Padilla.
For his part, the president of the Corporation for the Defense of Puerto Rico Weapons License Holders, Ariel Torres Meléndez, indicated, through written statements, that the video clearly shows that it is a clear case of legitimate defense.
But neither Padilla nor Torres Meléndez indicated whether the person had a valid license to own and carry a firearm.
Carolina, Puerto Rico is about 70 miles to the west of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.