Judge Jimmy Ed Sepúlveda of the San Juan Court found probable cause on Tuesday to try Anderson Bierd Melo, alias "Daivi," for allegedly participating in the murder of four people in July 2022 at the Juan C. Cordero Dávila public housing project (Residencial Quintana) in San Juan. Victims Davis John Ortega Ayala, Dereck Ortega Gandía, Diego Morales Morales and Raúl Ortiz Centeno died in a shooting on July 29, 2022 at the housing project.
Bierd Melo had been a fugitive since prosecutors Gracielis Vega Bermúdez, Adriana Albors Ortiz and Iván Rivera Labrador filed charges against him in absentia on March 15, 2024. The Puerto Rico Department of Justice said he was recently arrested in Hatillo while allegedly attempting to enter the island illegally. During the preliminary hearing, the San Juan District Attorney's Office filed four first-degree murder charges and six weapons law violation charges against him.
The investigation was led by agent Carlos Colón López of the Homicide Division of the Criminal Investigations Corps (CIC) in San Juan. The arraignment reading is scheduled for July 21, with the trial set to begin August 16.