Death threats spook Puerto Rican kingpin case witnesses

Santo Domingo.- The death threats against three witnesses who would’ve testified against the defendants charged with several murders on orders from Puerto Rican kingpin Jose David Figueroa Agosto yesterday forced the Office of the National District Prosecutor to discard their presence in the 4th Collegiate Court, where the hearings are being held.

According to prosecutors Candida Ramos, Denny Frei Silvestre and Isidro Vásquez , the witnesses Ronny Yodenny Perez Jerez, Sol Threeny Valera and Jose Ramon Almonte have received calls threatening them against declaring in court. “We stopped those witnesses because of death threats if they appear in court to testify.”

The judges Pilar Rufino Diaz, Daira Medina and Daniel Nolasco set the next hearing for 9am next Wednesday, to subpoena the first of 11 witnesses on the list including the Police who took part in the investigation, including the chief Jose A. Polanco.

A fourth witness, also dismissed by the prosecutors, was identified as Patry Justine Bueno Kuo, reportedly studying in China.

The alleged assassins’ network hired by Figueroa is accused killing colonel Jose González González, Omar Antigua Polanco, the owner of the famous eatery La Francesa, Rubén Soto Hayet and two of his employees.

They are also accused injuring Madeline Bernard (Gonzalez’s wife) by gunshot, as well as Jose Luis Mejía Ramos and Agustín Romero.

The allegad hired killers are Gian Enrique Rojas, Winston Antonio Rodríguez, José Miguel Rodríguez, José Aníbal Hidalgo, Ricardo Pérez Mateo, Wilhen Ortiz de los Santos, José A. de Jesús Paredes and Diómedes Moya Durán.