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.

Our brother just bought this motorcycle less than a month ago to commute to work. He had just finished his job conducting tours of the Bio Bay when he was killed by a drunk tourist traveling at a high rate of speed.

We hope this brings some more clarity to our people who so much deserve to know the truth. The handling of this case sends the message that any criminal can come to our island and hurt or kill any of us and get away with no consequences.

 #JusticiaparaCarlitoshitandrun

#JusticiaparaCarlitos

It is our hope that the Puerto Rican police will issue an arrest warrant of the man who took our brother’s life ASAP.