16-year-old teenager faces three murder charges in killing of grandmother in Guaynabo
Elvin William Reyes Rosa, aged 16, will be prosecuted as an adult after attacking his grandmother with a knife at the Santa María Shopping Center.
Three criminal charges against minor in death of grandmother in Guaynabo car park
The Department of Justice filed criminal charges on Sunday against Elvin William Reyes Rosa, aged 16, for the murder of his grandmother Lourdes Pérez Mercado, aged 67, and the attempted murder of his brother. The incident occurred on Saturday in the car park of the Santa María Shopping Center in Guaynabo, reported shortly after 2:00 in the afternoon, according to elnuevodia.com.
Justice Secretary Lourdes L. Gómez Torres confirmed in a press statement that the teenager will be prosecuted as an adult.
The Bayamón Prosecutor's Office established through investigation that Reyes Rosa attacked his grandmother and his brother with a knife on several occasions. Pérez Mercado died as a result of her injuries; her brother was left seriously wounded.
Prosecutor Glorimar García Ríos filed charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder, in accordance with articles 93 and 36 of the Puerto Rico Penal Code. A third charge was added for violation of Article 6.06 of the Puerto Rico Weapons Law, corresponding to the use of a bladed weapon to perpetrate the crime.
"We are facing a deeply painful tragedy that impacts a family forever. Nothing can reverse the loss of a life nor the damage caused by these acts. At the same time, we have the responsibility to enforce the law firmly," Gómez Torres expressed.
Judge Nadja G. Banuchi Ramos, of the Court of First Instance in Bayamón, found probable cause for arrest on all charges and imposed a bond of $225,000. Reyes Rosa was unable to post the bond and was taken into custody. The preliminary hearing was scheduled for 8 October.
A neighbour told Telenoticias Edición Domingo that Pérez Mercado had gone to the shopping centre to buy a fan for one of her grandchildren. Other neighbours indicated that the grandmother had expressed concern on several occasions about the teenager's return to her flat, and that he had assaulted her previously.
The investigation was conducted by officer Jorge Meléndez Meléndez, assigned to the Homicide Division of Bayamón of the Puerto Rico Police.
Source: Google News PR — Crime