Surrender of main assailant in Banco Popular robbery case

Punta Cana.- Jorge Luis Estrellas Arias, identified as the main perpetrator of the assault at the Banco Popular branch on Gregorio Luperón Avenue and Olof Palme corner in the National District, surrendered to the National Police this Friday. The surrender took place at the Punta Cana shopping center, in the presence of members of the Dominican press.

Diego Pesqueira, a police spokesperson, reported that out of the four individuals involved in the assault at the Banco Popular branch located inside a fuel station, two were killed during an alleged exchange of gunfire, and one was arrested.

Pesqueira identified the deceased assailants as Richard Michel Estrellas Arias, 25 years old, and Jhoan Eduardo Aybar, 24. The arrested individual is Eddy Enmanuel Segura Arias, 26 years old.

According to a preliminary report, around 1:30 in the morning, Estrella Arias barricaded himself in a room of the Costa Azul cabin on 30 de Mayo Avenue. Upon noticing the police presence, he began shooting at them, prompting the authorities to respond, resulting in injuries that led to his death shortly after being transferred to the Marcelino Velez hospital. A pistol with its magazine and several capsules were seized from him.

In further investigations, around 3:00 in the morning, based on intelligence information, a DICRIM team went to the El Hoyo sector, Santo Domingo Oeste, to arrest Belliard Aybar, identified as one of the perpetrators. Upon noticing the police presence, Aybar fired shots to escape, resulting in wounds that caused his death. A 9mm caliber pistol was found in his possession.

Regarding the assault, a viral video showed the assailants arriving in a black SUV around 4:30 pm on Monday, June 3. Three of them, armed, broke into the banking entity, overpowered the guard, and one of them, with their face covered, entered the cashier area and stole an undetermined amount of money before fleeing the scene.