Carlitos, 39, was killed in a hit-and-run by Jeremy Randy DelValle, a tourist from Maryland.
On April 24, 2024, at 12:40 a.m. in Vieques, Puerto Rico, by a tourist that was allegedly drunk. Jeremy Randy DelValle was driving a rental vehicle erratically and at high speed, struck Carlitos from behind, carrying his body on the windshield for a large distance
from where his motorcycle was found.
The tourist, DelValle then fled the scene, later abandoning the rental
vehicle two blocks from his Airbnb.
The police confirmed that DelValle
CONFESSED to the killing, but did NOT
ARREST him, because they needed to
CORROBORATE the CONFESION.
After 324 days, Jeremy was sentenced
on March 14, 2025, but was released after two weeks on a $20,000 bond.
Now, 489 days after the killing, the trial for Jeremy DelValle is scheduled to
start on August 27, 2025, at the Fajardo
Judicial Center.
Our Mission & Goal
Although our primary goal is to achieve Justice for Carlitos, we are raising our voice on behalf of all Puerto Ricans who have been victims of crime. Carlitos's death is not an isolated incident but a symptom of a larger issue. While tourists are always welcome in Puerto Rico, they must respect our nature, our businesses, and our lives.
The tragic cases of tourists who have committed crimes, from a Missouri woman who burned down businesses in Cabo Rojo, to a tourist who sought out a spray to kill our native coqui frogs, underscore a disturbing pattern. It has become clear that the Department of Justice has applied a different standard of accountability for crimes committed by tourists versus those committed by Puerto Ricans.
Our goal is to put a stop to this double standard and ensure that everyone, regardless of where they are from, is held equally accountable under the law.
How can YOU help?
● Share on Social Media: Raise Awareness by sharing Carlitos’s story on social media.
● Contact U.S. Media: Help us amplify Carlitos' story by reaching out and/or connecting us with U.S. national media outlets. We are reachable at justiciaparacarlitoshitandrun@gmail.com
● Connect with Influencers: Reach out and connect us with influencers interested in fight—the hit-and-run cases, police inaction, the double standard for tourists versus locals, colonization, Puerto Rico, Vieques, etc.
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VIEQUES, Puerto Rico – The former vice mayor of Vieques, Daisy Cruz Christian , and current candidate for mayor for the Popular Democratic Party (PPD), issued the following statement regarding the handling by the Criminal Investigation Corps (CIC) of the vehicle of the April 24, 2024. Hit-and-run death of Vieques resident Carlos “Carlitos” Alberto Cruz Morales :
Carlitos was a beloved member of our island who was brutally murdered by an alleged drunk driver in a hit-and-run incident after working as a Bioluminescent Bay tour provider.
El Nuevo Día 's Thursday report indicates that the CIC had the driver, who confessed to Carlitos' murder, in custody the next day, but released him.
The CIC informed members of the Cruz Morales family that the driver was released until they could “corroborate his confession.”
The fact that the CIC took a confessed murderer into custody and let him go is outrageous!
We urge all municipal leaders of Vieques to join us in imploring the CIC and the Fajardo Prosecutor's Office to urgently conclude their investigation and issue an arrest warrant for the man who confessed to killing Carlitos.
We demand justice for the Cruz Morales family.
MAY 2024 - Family Investigates Carlitos's Death Amidst Police Inaction
The relatives of Carlos Alberto Cruz Morales are conducting their own investigation to clarify his death in the face of what they indicated as inaction by the authorities.
We sadly learned that the unusual hit and run that took the life of our brother Carlitos, a beloved member of our community, had been treated with little to no care. I believe it is important for our community to know what is actually happening because this could have happened to any of us, and we hope that this never happens again.
1. The Suspect: The police have identified the suspect, and he confessed to the killing. But he is NOT under arrest, and in fact, he has NEVER been arrested. The suspect was interviewed about the incident by Agent Alexis Calderon. The suspect admitted to the killing of my brother (initially, the suspect reported having killed an animal), but he was NOT arrested because the Agent Calderon “needed to corroborate his confession”. A routine internet search informed us the suspect has an active criminal record and a long history of felonies in Virginia and Maryland. The suspect was never alcohol tested. NO charges were ever made. According to declarations by the CIC to the Nuevo Día, the suspect remains free in Puerto Rico.
2. The Hit and Run: The details of the hit and run were never gathered by the police. This is what happened. One of the eyewitnesses saw the suspect driving through Malecon at excessive velocity and out of control, starting from the corner of Trade Winds to the hit-and-run area in La Recta “Sun Bay”. Near where my brother’s body was found, the suspect did a few zigzags without leaving the street. We could think that the killer carried the body on his glass and zig-zagged to take the body out of the car, specially because my brother’s body ended up at a very large distance from where motorcycle was found. This eyewitness secured the area by parking their car to block the street and went to check on my brother, who seemed unconscious but most likely dead. The eyewitness immediately called the police, who arrived just a few minutes after. At the police arrival, the Officer suggestively asked the witness if it was him who hit the body, with the exact words “It wasn't you?” and the witness asked the police to check his car. Without taking any information or statement from the witness they told the witness that he could go, even though he identified himself as an eyewitness. The very same witness then found the car abandoned at the entrance of Las Marias, and drove back to inform the police. This was the second time that he identified himself as an eyewitness. Yet, he has NOT been interviewed by the police.
3. The Evidence: The eyewitness who saw the impact, and people who saw them interact at Lazy Jacks were NOT interviewed either. The only person interviewed there was Lazy Jack’s manager, who was a client that night. The Airbnb offered raw material videos, but the Agent Calderon, who is investigating the case, asked for the videos to be sent via WhatsApp, knowing that this evidence can't be used in court. We went to the crime scene and found countless pieces of evidence left behind in La Recta “Sun Bay”. If that wasn’t enough, we found the recovered evidence thrown in the grass behind the Police Department in Vieques, just right behind the car that caused the accident. Other items such as Carlitos new eye glasses and cellphone that were particularly broken during the accident, were returned to us in a plastic bag and not collected for evidence.
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