Former PNP youth leader Félix Plaud found shot dead in Guayama
Puerto Rico Police confirmed the murder of Félix Plaud, former youth leader of the PNP, found shot in Guayama. A man claimed responsibility for the crime in a Facebook video before appearing dead.
Former PNP youth leader murdered in Guayama; confessed perpetrator found dead hours later
The Puerto Rico Police confirmed, according to metro.pr, that the man found dead Friday afternoon in the Borinquén neighbourhood of Guayama, near a Total petrol station, is Félix Plaud, former youth leader of the New Progressive Party (PNP). Plaud had been reported missing hours earlier by a work colleague.
Agents from the Homicide Division of the Criminal Investigation Corps (CIC) in the Guayama area took charge of the investigation. According to preliminary information from police, the body presented several bullet wounds.
According to police, on Thursday evening Plaud was at an establishment with a friend when he received a telephone call, left to speak with someone and was not seen again. The formal complaint was filed at midday on Friday.
Facebook video sparks investigation
The report gained momentum after a man identified as William N. Rivera posted a video on Facebook in which he claimed responsibility for Plaud's murder, which according to him occurred on Thursday, and that of criminal lawyer Luis Quiñones González, shot Friday morning on Avenida Las Américas in Ponce.
"Yesterday I murdered Félix Plaud and just now I have just murdered Luis," Rivera stated in the recording.
In the video, Rivera alleged that he had invested all his savings in two medical cannabis dispensaries that never opened—one of them in Cupey—and held Plaud and Quiñones González responsible for the losses. Rivera stated that he sued Plaud, who returned part of the money to him, but that in recent months he had stopped paying. The authorities have not officially established a motive for the crimes.
Hours after posting the video, Rivera was found dead. The Homicide Division in Ponce is investigating the circumstances of his death.
Plaud's background
Plaud was a prominent figure in statehood activism during the 1990s and 2000s, including his role as a student leader of the PNP at the University of Puerto Rico. In later years he worked as a Government contractor and businessman.
Source: Google News PR — Crime