Costa Rica News – The Head of the Homicides Department (Quesada) at the Organisation for Judicial Investigations (OIJ) and three of his agents are on trial for four different crimes. This is after the Hatillo Penal Tribunal undertook the Public Ministry’s petition last Monday.
In a meeting with La Nación, the District Attorney’s press office confirmed that the other judicial police officers go by the names Luna, Valeria and Acosta. Now they just have to decide on the official date.
They are accused of abusing their authority, kidnapping, aggressive use of weapons and even for torture.
The case will be under the control of the District Attorney’s office linked with Honesty, Transparency and Anti-Corruption, as well the Hatillo District Attorney. This is largely because the acts took place in the district of Hatillo.
Previous History. On the 24th October, 2011, the OIJ went after Owen Roberto Steven Brown, who was suspected of having assassinated Fernando Calvo in an assault in February of that year. Calvo was an official in the Prison Organisation sector.
When he escaped, around the area of Parque de la Paz, Steven jumped into an informal taxi which was going by. The taxi had a passenger in. Afterwards, the driver and their client, who are named as Mora and Méndez, claimed that they had been assaulted by the OIJ officers.
“From the moment we stopped, it was all just so they could attack us, they never explained what was happening”, retells the taxi driver to La Nación in July 2013 when the investigation was emerging.
Afterwards, Steven and the two men were taken to the OIJ’s San José offices, where they were detained.
Steven, who was 29 years old, on the 2nd February was declared guilty of the murder of Calvo while the victim was walking back to his home in the Córdoba neighbourhood. When he was assaulted, Calvo resisted and was subsequently shot by Steven. Collaborative journalist: David Delgado C.
Translated by Leah Hendre from La Nacion
