NewsWhore
02-25-2010, 02:20 PM
Former prosecutor general Jose Manuel Hernandez Peguero is recommending that State Prosecutors appeal the judgment by judge Roman Hiciano Berroa of the First Court of Instruction of the National District, which discharged Nicaraguan Orin Clinton Gomez Halford of any responsibility in the murder of 7 men tied to drug trafficking in Paya near Bani on 4 August 2008.
Hiciano has issued a decree ordering the trial against 18 of the accused in the drug-related killings in Paya, Bani on 4 August 2008, while he dismissed 9 other people who had been implicated from penal responsibility, including Gomez. The killings were attributed to a presumed drug heist of some 1,300 kgs of cocaine that was brought to the country from Colombia.
As reported in Clave, Hernandez Peguero said that the Nicaraguan, who survived the killing and was seriously injured, should have been tried on charges of drug trafficking in the DR. He said that with the judge's decision to discharge him and 8 others from the case, the court runs the risk of him not heeding calls to appear in court, because he has been known to not cooperate with the authorities.
Gomez Halford, who is in the Dominican Republic illegally, has expressed a wish to return to his native Nicaragua.
"His presence in this case is extremely important for the State Prosecutors, and now it will depend on whether he wants to be in court or not. I think he will decide not to," said Hernandez Peguero, speaking on El Tribunal de la Tarde radio talk show.
Hoy newspaper points out that the judge's decision, which was issued on Tuesday leaves the case without the only witness to the killing of 7 drug traffickers. Gomez Halford has said he does not want to testify in the trial and that he wants to be deported.
Referring to the Figueroa Agosto drug case, Hernandez Peguero recommended that General Prosecutor Radhames Jimenez Pena appoint a commission of assistant prosecutors to investigate the 3 case files in 3 separate jurisdictions - National District, Province of Santo Domingo and Prosecutor General's Office. "I believe this is a very important case and the country is no longer viewing it with awe, but with a great deal of concern about the way in which these people have inserted themselves into government institutions such as the Armed Forces," he said.
He speculated that there could be more extraditions in the Quirino Ernesto Paulino Castillo drug case. He said that Quirino has not been sentenced yet. "As soon as the new (US) ambassador arrives, there could be more extradition requests," he said.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#10)
Hiciano has issued a decree ordering the trial against 18 of the accused in the drug-related killings in Paya, Bani on 4 August 2008, while he dismissed 9 other people who had been implicated from penal responsibility, including Gomez. The killings were attributed to a presumed drug heist of some 1,300 kgs of cocaine that was brought to the country from Colombia.
As reported in Clave, Hernandez Peguero said that the Nicaraguan, who survived the killing and was seriously injured, should have been tried on charges of drug trafficking in the DR. He said that with the judge's decision to discharge him and 8 others from the case, the court runs the risk of him not heeding calls to appear in court, because he has been known to not cooperate with the authorities.
Gomez Halford, who is in the Dominican Republic illegally, has expressed a wish to return to his native Nicaragua.
"His presence in this case is extremely important for the State Prosecutors, and now it will depend on whether he wants to be in court or not. I think he will decide not to," said Hernandez Peguero, speaking on El Tribunal de la Tarde radio talk show.
Hoy newspaper points out that the judge's decision, which was issued on Tuesday leaves the case without the only witness to the killing of 7 drug traffickers. Gomez Halford has said he does not want to testify in the trial and that he wants to be deported.
Referring to the Figueroa Agosto drug case, Hernandez Peguero recommended that General Prosecutor Radhames Jimenez Pena appoint a commission of assistant prosecutors to investigate the 3 case files in 3 separate jurisdictions - National District, Province of Santo Domingo and Prosecutor General's Office. "I believe this is a very important case and the country is no longer viewing it with awe, but with a great deal of concern about the way in which these people have inserted themselves into government institutions such as the Armed Forces," he said.
He speculated that there could be more extraditions in the Quirino Ernesto Paulino Castillo drug case. He said that Quirino has not been sentenced yet. "As soon as the new (US) ambassador arrives, there could be more extradition requests," he said.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#10)