The local press has been following the case of murdered youth Jose Francisco Nolasco, who was killed by the police in an apparent case of mistaken identity. The police were in pursuit of a known delinquent in Sabana Perdida when Lieutenant Cristino Alvarez Ventura fired at Nolasco. When the lieutenant realized he had killed the wrong person, he tried to conceal the error by placing an illegal revolver in the hand of the youth, so as to imply that he had killed him in self-defense.
An investigation took place after the young man’s family of stirred the public’s indignation and a police commission determined that the lieutenant was indeed responsible. Police spokesman Ramon Francisco Rodriguez said that Alvarez Ventura’s case would be handled by the regular judicial system and he would be charged with murder. When questioned by the press, however, he could not say whether he would also be accused of possession of an unauthorized weapon. If this were included in the murder case against him, the agent could not be freed on bail.
Columnist Jose Monegro, writing in El Dia newspaper, says that while the police have singled out Alvarez, the patrol that gave the order has not been penalized as an accomplice to the crime. Monegro points out that the patrol chief on the scene, Major Letta Castro, forbid the neighbors to assist the mortally wounded Nolasco. Monegro laments the major’s good fortune and the fact that he will not be made to explain his actions. The police commission determined that Alvarez Ventura was the sole person responsible for the killing.