Santiago Prosecutor seeks preventive detention for armed bank robbers

Santiago, DR.- The Santiago Prosecutor’s Office has requested that the Judicial Office of Permanent Attention Services impose preventive detention and declare the case against six armed robbers as a complex process. These individuals are accused of robbing a Banco de Reservas branch in the La Barranquita sector, where three people were injured by gunfire during the heist.

Less than a week after the robbery, the Prosecutor’s Office, supported by experts and the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (Dicrim), identified, pursued, and arrested six members of the criminal group. They face charges including criminal association, aggravated robbery, attempted homicide, and illegal use of firearms.

The accused are identified as Danny Manuel Pimentel de la Cruz, Willmi Pie (a Haitian citizen), Joel Fontanilla Garcia (Victorino and/or Victoriano), Carlos Rafael Rodriguez Baez (Carlitos), Gregorio Nunez Polanco (Child Pepe), and Jairo de Jesus Estevez Rodriguez. Two additional suspects, Gerardo Antonio Ramirez Garcia (the Dead) and Yenrry Manuel Gonzalez Garcia, remain at large.

The investigation revealed that the suspects planned the robbery, acquiring high-caliber firearms, balaclavas, caps, tie wraps, disposable black gloves, bulletproof vests, and packages. The Prosecutor’s Office has recovered a .223 caliber rifle, multiple capsules, and 1.5 million pesos in stolen cash.

The robbers met weeks before the incident to plan the attack on the financial institution located at the La Fuente Fun Supermarket on Antonio Guzmán Fernández Avenue and Francisco Augusto Lora corner in La Barranquita. The Prosecutor’s Office has also seized the vehicles used in the robbery, some of which were stolen from drivers on public roads.

The three citizens injured during the robbers’ escape are participating as victims and complainants along with the banking institution. The charges against the defendants include violations of articles 265, 266, 379, 382, and 385 of the Dominican Penal Code for criminal association and aggravated robbery, as well as articles 2 and 295 for attempted homicide, and articles 66 and 67 of Law 631-16 for the Control of Weapons, Ammunition, and Related Materials.