Armed Robbery in Juan Dolio......

MommC

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All appeared normal close to midnight, in Juan Dolio last night.

One of the regulars had just left Il Cappucino, headed for home and walking round the Mitsubishi jeepeta parked in front of the local coffee shop/bar.
Several patrons sat sipping cervezas, listening to the music or dancing with the 'hostesses'.

Two seconds later, three men stood up with pistols drawn and proceed to clean out the till and carry out the sound system to the awaiting Mitsubishi.

It was all over in a matter of minutes and no one was harmed.

The owner, who was present at the time, couldn't believe that the men didn't rob the other patrons who were present, however it was obvious to even to him that this was a well thought out, well planned and well executed robbery.

The men knew what they were after, when to strike and when to leave.

Needless to say the police were called and of course DIDN'T show up!

Hhhmmmmmnnnn.......

I wonder why tourism is down??????
 

Mirador

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MommC said:
.... Needless to say the police were called and of course DIDN'T show up....Hhhmmmmmnnnn.......QUOTE]

After 10:00 pm the law says that music has to be turned down. Those who like myself enjoy eavesdroppring on 155.850 khz, will notice that one of the most active police activities after midnight is enforcing the noise regulations. Normally, if after the first notice, and a police visit, the offending turns the music back up, orders are to impound the music system, leaving a signed receipt of the impounded items. It is no secret that in our honorable police force there are still some elements with sticky fingers for the till. However, this problem is increasingly being taken cared of, frequently with extreme prejudice...

-
 

mikey007

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Aug 19, 2005
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armed robbery in juan dolio

let me say something with the development of juan dolio , this will attract the wrong element , however u will see more and more honest hard working persons packing some firearms also :chinese: :chinese: :chinese: :chinese: :chinese: :cool:
 

MommC

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This establishment is an enclosed location......

so have the right to play their music as loud as they want, however they don't because there are rental rooms on the second floor.

This WAS NOT an enforcement of the 'noise' law.

The music equipment was NOT "impounded", it was STOLEN, secondary to the theft of the cash!

Also the owner is an ex-pat and does NOT carry debt so it definitely wasn't 'debt collectors'. In fact he is owed money by several people, Dominicans included.

It WAS an ARMED ROBBERY!!

The police DID NOT respond!

Considering the size of Juan Dolio and the small number of tourists on the streets it is safe to say not a LOT of cash was involved. Hence the observation that the 'ladrones' must be getting desperate to pull off such a 'heist'.

Is the country and tourism in trouble??

You'd better believe it!!

My son called last night to say he was coming down in two weeks with my grandchildren. I called him back this morning after hearing the news to tell him NOT to bother. ( I told him it was too close to when we were leaving so he'd have to wait until we come back next time as I didn't want to alarm him un-necessarily!)

When tourist establishments are the target of armed criminal activity with no police response, it's time for the tourists to stop patronizing them!!!
 

Mirador

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qui bono?

MommC said:
....Is the country and tourism in trouble?? You'd better believe it!!...

Not the country, only Juan Dolio. These situations are obviously staged to undermine Juan Dolio's tourism. While DR tourism has increased overall 10 percent since last year, Juan Dolio has taken a proportional plunge. Who benefits?

-
 

marliejaneca

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Oct 7, 2003
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Thank goodness nobody was harmed. It seems so strange that these men were just sitting there and then pull this off. Certainly the owner must have a good description of these guys since he was serving them, has he gone to the police station with these descriptions? It almost sounds like the police are involved in some way, that these guys would be so bold and not even try to cover their identities, unless they were sure that they would be able to just walk away from it all.

I still shake my head at how the country has changed so much over the last few years, it really is losing its' charm and simplicity. I know that everywhere else in the world is dealing with these same problems, it is just tragic that some places could not be immune to it.

I guess the good thing is not everyone hears about what is happening in the DR as much as other tourist vacation spots. Like the murders in Cancun, which is still all over the papers. That situation surely will deter the faint-hearted from travelling there, I would think?

I like to think that I am fortunate because I only know the DR from years ago, when all was peaceful, crime wasn't a major issue, tourism was great, it was not over-run by huge amounts of foreigners coming to the island to "change" their life, and subsequently, trying to change the Dominicans as well. A simpler time. Even when I returned for a short visit two years after I left the DR, I was shocked and somewhat disgusted at what I saw. So much more tourism development that you felt chlostrophobic (sp?), so much more crime, attitudes of Domicans had changed, more greed, hell, even the sankies I worked had perfected their trade!!! LOL

MommC - I can feel your frustration, when it hits so close to home, that you feel for the safety of your loved ones, it must shatter the dream a bit.

Take care,

Marlie
 

JoeTurist

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Mirador said:
Not the country, only Juan Dolio. These situations are obviously staged to undermine Juan Dolio's tourism. While DR tourism has increased overall 10 percent since last year, Juan Dolio has taken a proportional plunge. Who benefits?

-
Read the todays news on DR1:
"Police capture Las Terrenas thieves
The National Police have announced the capture and arrest of a gang of thieves that held up a group of French tourists last 16 March in the Hotel Los Mangos Rancho Avena, in the Abre Grande section of Las Terrenas, Samana. The police arrested Jose Franklin Kelly (Aramis), Ester Morillo Morillo, Alberto Bautista Chalas and Enrique Antonio de la Rosa Juan during a search of #4, E Street, in Genoveva Residence in the Villa Mella section of Santo Domingo. A police spokesperson said that Santo Fermin Kelly (Quinquin) is still at large. The group robbed Noel Dominique Sylvain, Sandrine Beaugrand, Oliver van de Wynkle, Lidie Gavrilovic, Neurin van de Wynkle and Pilles Patro. The thieves, armed with pistols and machetes entered Los Mangos, tied up the group with nylon cord and restraints, and took US$400, E70, RD$10,000, four cameras, a Swatch watch, a Seiko watch, Gucci sunglasses, a ring, a gold chain, ten pants, seven polo shirts, four pairs of shoes, four shorts and a Hyundai minivan. The Puerto Plata police launched an investigation into the case and followed the alleged thieves to Santo Domingo, but lost the trail in Villa Mella. A short time later the group was found at Genoveva and arrested. The Hyundai minivan was recovered along with the Seiko watch, RD$2,040 pesos and other items."

French ambassador to DR will be in Las Terrenas on March 29/2006 to hear first hand from the french nationals in Las Terrenas. (Meting at Hotel Atlantis, Punta Bonita).

Crime against tourists are not only in Juan Dolio! And not isolated incidents.

J.T.
 

NALs

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Jan 20, 2003
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Mirador said:
Not the country, only Juan Dolio. These situations are obviously staged to undermine Juan Dolio's tourism. While DR tourism has increased overall 10 percent since last year, Juan Dolio has taken a proportional plunge. Who benefits?

-
Can we really blame "crime" for this plunge?

Could it be the horrible service many of the resorts in Juan Dolio offers, there are plenty of unsatisfied visitors.

Or perhaps, the fact that many areas of the beach is nothing but coral rock, which albeit the sandy patches are nice, the demanding tourist will not settle for coral rock outcrops in what's suppose to be a smooth sandy beach all the way (this is something that Punta Cana, Bayahibe, even Puerto Plata offers, to the dismay of Juan Dolio I might add).

If "crime" was truly the culprit for the downfall of Juan Dolio, then we should be seeing the same downfall in Miami Beach, Rio, Guayaquil, you know, hot tourist spots with a crime rate that is so high you wonder why they are still popular tourist spots!

And, of course, the question to be asked is this: What does MommC wants for any DR1er to do about this? At the very least, be cautious, but I think most people already are regardless if they are in place with crime or no crime. Chances are that a crime or two is being commited right now in a place very near every single DR1 member, where ever in the world they may be.

Here are some recent news examples:

From the bizzare: http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/sns-ap-suing-self,0,5350974.story?coll=green-news-utility

To the Tyson copycat: http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/sns-ap-severed-tongue,0,1595997.story?coll=green-news-utility

To the sad: http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/l...98mar22,0,7959830.story?coll=nyc-nynews-print

To the racism conducted by a well to do Connecticut town: http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/l...,0,6751178.story?coll=hc-headlines-local-wire

To the unsettling: http://www.boston.com/news/local/co...ling_to_authorities/?rss_id=Boston.com+/+News

-NALs
 
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MommC

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To Joe and Nals.......

Great responses.....

To Mirador.....It's not just Juan Dolio!

Friends were held up at gunpoint - in the afternoon- in Boca Chica.

An aquaintence was hijacked at gunpoint near Higuey.

Neighbours were hijacked at gunpoint near San Pedro.

Two of these were perpetrated by 'ladrones' wearing military fatigues.

Two were perpetrated by 'ladrones' carrying police pistols.

A tourist was acousted by a 'ladrone' in the early evening on the beach near Villas Del Mar. She got away by biting the perpetrator on the arm. Next morning when she went to report the incident to the police the 'officer' taking the report had a bite mark on his arm!

These incidents ARE being reported to the news media when tourists return home.

What can we DR1'ers do about it?? Not much other than warn visitors to be VERY careful or to stay in the resorts (which I'm betting will soon be under attack as in the 80's by armed bandits).

Oh by the way.....did I mention the armed intruders that entered Playa Esmeralda between Juan Dolio and Guayacanes??

Are tourists 'safe' in the DR?? Not anymore!!
 

Marcus

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Getting robbed

At least the thieves are only stealing and not killing people. We can replace the material things we have, but we can't replace the lives of those around us.

Although, I would like to shoot the thief that took the little plastic hubcaps from my jeepeta last Friday night :(

Mark
 

MommC

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To Joe and Nals.......

Sorry .....double post! Power went off (apagone) and my computer flipped out!

Over the years we have noticed the increase in crime however this year is off the scale.......
We've also noted violent crime is on the rise and it is increasingly obvious that not only are drugs playing a big part in the increase, but the very persons who are supposed to 'uphold' the law are increasingly becoming the perpetrators of the crimes!
 
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