Three men were sent to prison last night after failing to post a $4.9 million bail set by a judge following charges in a double murder reported last week in Arecibo. Police identified the accused as Ricardo Medina Suárez, 36, who has a criminal record for weapons and controlled substances violations; Josué Santiago Santiago, 23; and Jean Carlos Valle Molina, 24, who has a state probation for a controlled substances violation.
The three face 57 criminal charges including first-degree murder, attempted murder, and weapons law violations. An investigation by the Arecibo Homicide Division, together with the Technical Recordings, Intelligence and Arrests Unit, led to solving the case, which stemmed from a shooting on Monday, September 14, at night on Highway PR-653 in the Barranca sector of the Hato Abajo neighborhood in Arecibo, in which two other people were also wounded by gunfire.
The men were arrested Thursday afternoon at the Las Meseta public housing project in Arecibo. Prosecutor Daisy Quintero Hernández filed the charges, and Judge Heidi Kiess of the Arecibo Court found probable cause for arrest and set the $4.9 million global bail. The men were booked into Institution 705 at the Bayamón Correctional Complex after failing to post bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for October 9.