Edwin Víctor Juste, 28, was shot during a police operation in Santo Domingo Este, according to his mother and a close friend. The incident took place during a raid by agents of the Dirección Central de Investigación (Dicrim). The mother of the deceased says the agents entered the house with the door open and fired three shots at Edwin while he was lying in bed. She claims that after the shooting the officers dragged him out, wrapped him in a sheet, cleaned the premises and then left. She also alleges that the police placed two pistols in his hands after he was killed to portray him as armed. “He had lost a finger and could not have held the weapons,” she said. The mother further says that the police took her cell phone, formatted it and left it elsewhere, arguing that it contained information related to the case. She expressed distrust in the Dominican justice system, stating, “La papa está cara, pero ¿no está cara la vida humana?” Francis Miguel Morel, a friend of Edwin, told reporters that he saw the agents arrive around 8:40 am while his mother was on her way to work. According to Morel, Edwin was still in his bedroom when the officers entered. He says the police fired three shots, then dragged Edwin out of the house. “He asked a neighbor for a phone to call his mother and say goodbye because he knew they were going to kill him,” Morel recounted. He added that the officers then fired eight more shots. After the shooting, the officers wrapped Edwin in a sheet and cleaned the house. Morel also said that the authorities had presented Edwin as a wanted person, but he denies that there was an arrest warrant. He claims that the police had no record of a warrant for Edwin. “He never had any problems with anyone here,” Morel said. He described Edwin as a construction worker and car‑washer who had lived in the area for about eight years and was known by neighbors. The friend added that he had been detained by Dicrim the previous Friday on a mistaken identification. He was taken to a medical center, fingerprinted, and then transferred to a police station where he was cleared of any connection to the alleged warrant. He was later released. The Dicrim has not released an official statement regarding the circumstances of Edwin’s death. The mother and friend have called for an independent investigation into the incident.
Article source: El Nuevo Diario | Image credit: El Nuevo Diario