At the request of a prosecutor appointed to the Sectional Office in Bolívar, a judge imposed a prison sentence on Luis Ángel Velásquez Benítez, alias El Negrito, alleged responsible for the crime of extortion.
The facts that motivated the judicial decision occurred on August 31 when some people, who identified themselves as members of the so-called Clan del Golfo, demanded 50 million COP from a 42-year-old female merchant, whose business is located in the Olaya Herrera neighborhood in Bolívar.
Later, the alleged extortionists decreased the amount to 20 million pesos, of which the victim had to immediately hand over 5 million as an advance. If she did not comply with the request, she was threatened with attacking her family and workers.
The defendant, 18 years old, was arrested in flagrant by the National Police when he received a high sum of money from the victim.
The defendant did not plead guilty to the charges, and his confinement will take place at the so-called San Sebastián Ternera prison in La Heroica.
The information contained in this press release corresponds to the narration of the objective news provided by the officials in charge of carrying out criminal investigations within the Office of the Attorney General. By the time this communication is disclosed, the legal status of the people mentioned is still pending to be resolved by the competent judicial authority, always under the presumption of innocence contemplated by Article 29 of the Political Constitution and Article 7 of Law 906 of 2004.