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Friday, January 29th, 2016  |  USD: Buy 531.29 / Sell 543.92
20 years

Armed carjackers responded to online ads, stole at least five vehicles

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August 24th, 2015 (ICR News) Police made five arrests in a series of six coordinated raids last week in order to dismantle a group of armed carjackers that would respond to online for-sale ads to lure in their victims.

 

According to authorities, the suspects would respond to ads for vehicles for sale online, posing as an interested buyer wanting to go for a test drive.  After meeting, the suspects would carjack the victim at gunpoint, in some cases driving the victim around for 30 minutes before leaving them in an unfamiliar location.

 

Authorities said that the suspects stole five vehicles between June 28th and July 17th from victims in Escazu, Coronado, Alajuela, Cartago, and Barrio Escalante.

 

The raids were carried out in locations in Tres Ríos, Siquirres and Cartago.  Authorities recovered firearms, ammunition, and other evidence during the raids.

 

The suspects are charged with aggravated robbery, conspiracy, and aggravated deprivation of liberty.  Prosecutors have requested six months of pre-trial detention.

 

In an unrelated case with an apparently reverse modus operandi, a U.S. man was murdered in San Jose last week after responding to an online ad for a vehicle for sale.  The man, who lived in Playas del Coco, Guanacaste, was reportedly carrying between $5,000 and $7,000 in cash.

 

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  • YinYang

    I am not sure how much money Costa Rica makes every year from tourism. And I also do not know how much of that money makes up the country’s total revenue. But from what I have heard it makes up for quite a bit of it. That being said from the research I have conducted I think it is safe to say the government and politicians running Costa Rica are almost definitely full of corruption. Not only that they are clearly not very intelligent, lazy, unprofessional and a mix of all those things along with other similar characteristics. Needless to say this is going to be a message that would do them good to listen to but judging from their history of handling issues it is safe to say it won’t be heard until it is too late. Knowing how these events are going to play out prior to them happening gives me no great pleasure but I figured that the least I could do is put this message in a public forum for people to take into consideration whether you are thinking about visiting Costa Rica, living in Costa Rica or if you are living in Costa Rica already.

    Before I go into the events that will transpire due to the Costa Rican government’s negligence I will start off by saying much of what I am going to say is entirely preventable. Also with that being said I will also note that much of the damage that has already been done is irreversible. I digress. If the government and the politicians in Costa Rica take an immediate and serious approach to cracking down on crimes against expats and tourists alike then whatever money they are currently enjoying from tourism will continue. If they don’t head this message they will see the latter. That is my message to people holding positions in government in Costa Rica

    So to them I guess is it just a matter of how bad they want that money to keep flowing in and how well they can understand the changes they need to make with how they invest the money they make off tourism, taxes and whatever other sources of income they have.

    Sure on one hand they could continue to be greedy and ignore this message. But I wonder how their perspective might change if just for a moment they looked around at all the things that they enjoy and knew they will soon lose them. Like most corrupt and greedy politicians this type of insight is probably next to impossible to acquire. If it was not the case they would not be finding themselves in the predicament they are about to be in to begin with.

    Furthermore there is a domino effect that would result in their continued negligence that if they had a chance to foresee I am sure they would suddenly have the most motivation in their life if realized. After tourism comes to a halt and all the expats take their money elsewhere. What will remain? One thing that certainly will remain will be all the thugs that caused it to happen to begin with and the politicians who could have stopped it but chose to ignore it. I bet for some people reading this you are starting to see the picture I am painting. But if you’d like to skip all this and move right to the conclusion of my point then I will make it short and sweet. And here it is. Look at Mexico today. You know where the sheriffs and police officers fear for their own life as well as the people holding any sort of government position. You either abide by what the cartels tell you to abide by or risk the loss of your own life or maybe even worse they will take your family’s life first. This is a reality there and I hope that changes. At the same time I hope this will NEVER be a reality for Costa Rica. But I am already seeing how this is playing out and I know I am not alone in this insight. So people of Costa Rica this message is for you.

    Costa Rica is an absolutely beautiful country with unlimited potential if the direction of the country is guided with some moral compass. There is no reason Costa Rica has to fall into a lawless state. I know many people will probably read this and laugh at what I am saying because they are thinking “you fool Costa Rica is already a lawless state.” Well let me be the first to tell you that I whole heartedly disagree with you. I feel I understand Costa Rica as well as Costa Ricans and there is absolutely nothing wrong with the Pura Vida approach to life. It is fantastic. But something not said when those simple words of Pura Vida are uttered is what I think is an implied undertone to what that truly encompasses.

    Costa Rica from what I understand is a country where close to 90 percent of the people living there claim Christianity as their religion of choice. From what I have seen they love Christianity for the real meaning of why it is good to have that as a moral compass. They feel in their hearts doing good is the right way to go through life.

    I have read numerous articles describing the average Tico or Tica in a negative light. I think the people writing those things are not seeing the things I have seen with my own eyes.

    It is my belief that the best part about why Costa Rica is beautiful is the people that live there. Without beautiful people Costa Rica would not have enjoyed the success it has compared to its other Central American counterparts. And when I describe the people of Costa Rica as beautiful I am not referring to the outside appearance I am referring to their hearts.

    The good people of Costa Rica which to what I have seen is the overwhelming majority would do good to realize how they are being mismanaged by corrupt politicians and that sort of negligence has a very true potential of turning the country into an unsafe place even for the people that have lived there for countless generations.

    From what I understand Costa Rica is no stranger to being used by a corrupt government. Do you want to know another thing Costa Rica is not a stranger to? They are also not strangers to looking that corrupt government right in the face and saying we are not going to let you do this anymore. Not just saying words but also doing something about it. Things like this are the types of things that give me tremendous faith in the country as a whole.

    Passive people always get stomped on by greedy jerks that are not directed by any sort of moral compass. But people who choose not to take the cowards approach to life are much, much more difficult to take advantage of.

    When a person is willing to die for their freedom both physically and mentally then there is very little someone can do to control them.

    With all people and places of the world there is a good and a bad. The best places and people are the ones where the good far outweighs the bad. The recent change in crime in Costa Rica is nothing short of a symptom of a ridiculous amount of corruption and if not remedied will bring the people trying to keep the peace in Costa Rica to their knees begging for a change. I pray this will not be Costa Rica’s fate but at the same time if I didn’t feel it was a real threat I probably would not have chosen to write this message in the first place.

    If there is a God. We are all God’s children. But even if there isn’t. We are still all one. The people not just in Costa Rica but the whole world MUST learn to work with others hand in hand through this thing we call life. Our struggles as humans are a direct result of not understanding this completely. As soon as this is realized it will not be long after until the world can share in saying words similar to Pura Vida to all people that they encounter.

    I am not Martin Luther King but I do have a dream. I look at this world with my eyes wide open. I see it for what it is and know the worst hells we can fall to as well as the greatest heavens we could experience. I know for sure that I don’t know anything as to what we will live to see. But what I do know is what I expressed here. And I know how to recognize patterns when I see them. And I am not alone in this so I have no doubt many people who might read this will feel my heart in these words and understand their truthfulness.

    Pura Vida Forever!!

    • Buffalo Bill

      2 points:

      #1 We are NOT all God’s children, we are all God’s CREATION. Only those who choose to love God and accept Him into their hearts and follow Him and His commandments ( to the best of their abilities) could be called God’s children.

      #2 The citizenry here who you refer to as Christian are mostly Catholics and they are quick to point that fact out when you ask if they are Christian.
      Being catholic means they call their high priest the pope or “The Holy father” ,However in the Christian Bible it is written In Mathew 23:9
      “And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.”
      I am not sure but I don’t think you find that verse in the Catholic bible. This was written in the Bible long before there was a catholic church , because God knew what was coming.

      And what part of “thou Shall Not Steal” ( 1 of the 10 commandments) do the citizens of Costa Rica not read or understand?
      Also the catholics believe a man who is hired as a “father” or priest and is head of their local church, can actually forgive them of their sins. This is part and parcel of a very old Jesuit scheme to learn(through congregant’s confession) of all citizens’ daily doings and thus have secret knowledge to hold sway over matters unlimited in society.
      Actual Christians believe only God can forgive sins.

    • Jefe

      Just another Jesus Crusader who thinks the Scriptures are the answer to all that is evil. In the history of wars in civilizations, how many battles? How many civilizations have been annihilated in the name of religious crusaders? Didn’t Buffalo Bill have something to do with mass starvation of the American Indian? Would Jesus have named his son after Buffalo Bill, realizing the white Christians slaughtered men, women and children in his name?

      If it were me, and I was preaching the Gospel, I would at least choose a different moniker.

  • duke ster

    Tim, can you please tell us in which positions of government are employees paid in excess of $10k per month? This blows my mind after experiencing the poverty of the average workman in CR.

  • Jefe

    These guys are only emulating what they have learned from what has already happened years ago on Craigslist. The fact that they get away with it so easily, has to do with the lack of diligence of the CR government-judicial and law enforcement to be pro-active. You can’t blame “them”, for hunting/stealing season has not been defined. How can anyone be aware of the rules, when there is such and indifference-tolerance and lack of consistent punishment?

  • Ginger Morris

    DUKE, if you read some of these new reports…Bankers are making $24,000 a MONTH. This is why Solis says he cant lower Government employees. Some are making salary’s PLUS huge bonuses and they cant get FIRED… SCREW UP GOVERNMENT AND DUMB… DUMB. They are more worried about Taxi drivers that want to work than about the crime and corrupting.

    • Ben

      The president of Costa Rica hates business and love´s to help his buddies in the Public sector Unions that steal and do nothing to help anyone. Get out of Costa Rica trust me Panama and anywhere is better.

      • Karen Mata

        True, Ben. The COL here in Chiriqui province is fabulous. The police are pleasant and low key, not always looking for any infraction to make their daily quota. Honestly though after 20 years in CR, I look forward to some day returning to Rohrmoser.

    • duke ster

      .OMG !! If anyone has ridden the bus during rush our when Ticos are returning home after their 10 hr workdays–everyone is just drained, it’s depressing. I know because I also worked long hours here and rode the busses,and you don’t earn enough to even get by. I feel sorry for these people. I was able to get out but Ticos ( average Ticos) are trapped in the workaday slave world. Those of us who are fortunate to have lived and worked in USA really have it soo good. Even at minimum wage. I mean the difference between an 8 hr day with weekends off and the Tico way of 10 hrs 6 days per week is a huge difference. The person with the 8 hr schedule actually has the opportunity at a life. Those with 10 hr days and 6 days—- no life at all. It really is a sad way of life here but to learn that the bankers make so much $$$$–sickening!

  • YinYang

    I am happy to see I am not the only person who sees that Costa Rica is on a path of self destruction. I just hope the people that stay will be safe even though I am sure it will probably be in their best interests to get out while they still have good health. Such a shame that greed and corruption hold sway over much of Central America. I really thought Costa Rica was an exception but that is obviously not the case. I have heard that Panama is much better so maybe I will check that out. One funny thing I noticed yesterday was when I was going through the major online news agencies from Costa Rica. It seems the rest of them only spew government propaganda surely to try to attract tourism. The president must be a special kind of stupid though if he thinks people are not going catch on to the reality there. Let’s face it corruption and crime exist everywhere. At least in the country I live in if a crime is committed against me I know there will be a response and a real investigation more times than not and I don’t even have to get murdered for that to happen. Seems like when someone wants to murder someone in CR then it is just free game. Not much threat of consequence. No wonder why the scumbags are coming out of the woodwork to do what they do. Ben makes an excellent point about the President of CR. I have long known that is how their leadership functions. Ginger made excellent points as well about where their heads are at. Buffalo Bill I understand your points between Christianity and Catholics. I guess in my eyes if someone is going to say they follow Jesus I don’t care if they call their religion “Monkey Box Fish Heads.” The name of the religion means very little. The important stuff is the principles that they live by. But I do totally agree it is ridiculous that the Catholics look at the Pope as if he is somehow closer to God than the rest of man. I wouldn’t believe that even if I was dumb, deaf and blind. And I also agree that it is silly to think a priest can somehow offer forgiveness to man and somehow have God’s approval when doing so. If the repentance is not sincere from the heart the person would be just as good to not be sorry in the first place. We don’t need other men or women’s approval in this life. We’re all human and all imperfect. Lastly I will point out I don’t consider myself a religious person to begin with but in the same breath I follow the 10 commandments to a T. They are good rules to follow and certainly stealing from your neighbor is not going get you any kind of good energy sent your way. Thank all of you for sharing!

  • duke ster

    Looks like the cops really charged right out there and kicked butt!! Hooray!.
    I knew an ex cop who was kind of unusual because he was known for chasing down criminals and catching many of them. Finally he gave up and quit when he got into a gunfight and the laws protected the criminals. he was demoralized. A really nice guy who ended up going into remodeling and knew alot about fixing everything and has every tool you can think of–I hope he keeps getting alot of work out there. Wish I could remember his name (other than just Mario) and phone number so I could refer him. A really stand up Tico/human being for sure.
    If there were more people like him in this world what a fine place it would be.

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