They are accused of beating and suffocating the victim, and finally burning her corpse.
At the request of the Attorney General’s Office, a judge imposed a prison sentence on Bayron Steven Gil Martínez, Freddy Giovanny Ramírez Rivera, Erick Alexander Rolón Serrano and Martín Steven Salazar Bello, alleged members of ‘Los Toches’ criminal group who allegedly participated in the murder of a merchant in Ubaté (Cundinamarca) on June 23.
Another person who was arrested in fragante during home searches and was found in possession of ammunition was identified as Teófilo Alfonso Rolón Botello. He must remain in custody at his residence.
The evidence indicates that the first four defendants traveled from Bucaramanga (Santander), Cúcuta (Norte de Santander), and Medellín (Antioquia) to Ubaté to determine their criminal roles. It was learned that Salazar Bello allegedly gave the order to carry out the crime, while Gil Martínez was in charge of surveillance.
Ramírez Rivera and Rolón Serrano allegedly threatened the 58-year-old businessman with a firearm at his residence in the San Francisco neighborhood. They robbed his jewelry, 250 million COP in cash, and two gold-plated and diamond-encrusted weapons. Then, they hit him several times on the head and suffocated him. Finally, they incinerated the corpse.
For these acts, a prosecutor appointed to the branch office in Cundinamarca (Seccional Cundinamarca) charged them, based on their potential individual responsibilities, with homicide and aggravated robbery, both aggravated offenses; manufacturing, trafficking, or possessing firearms, accessories, parts, or ammunition; and trafficking, manufacturing, or possession of narcotics. They did not plead guilty.
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.