Police in Puerto Rico reclassified a case as murder after a 65-year-old man died from injuries sustained in an altercation with his neighbor. The incident occurred on May 5 on Calle 5 in the Villa Real neighborhood of Vega Baja, where a dispute between two men escalated into a physical fight involving punches. According to a preliminary police investigation, Juan Carlos Figueroa struck Luis M.
Pagán Negrón first. Pagán Negrón suffered contusions and skull and facial fractures, and was taken to the Río Piedras Medical Center, where he remained hospitalized. On June 1, medical staff reported his death from the injuries sustained in the altercation.
Police said Pagán Negrón had a criminal record dating to 2016, though the specific charges were not specified. The Center for Analysis of Criminal Incidence and Case Resolution, under the Auxiliary Superintendence for Criminal Investigations, subsequently reclassified the case as murder. Agent Miguel Barreto of the Homicide Division of the Criminal Investigations Corps (CIC) in Vega Baja and prosecutor Yarelis Sánchez Courney are leading the investigation.