Prosecutors seek to drop drug charges against Costa Rica park ranger convicted of attempted murder of poacher
Park ranger, Mauricio Steller Fallas was sentenced to 12 years in prison for his 2009 shooting of an alleged poacher in the Osa Conservation Area. (Courtesy)
November 9th, 2015 (ICR News) Prosecutors in Osa, Puntarenas late last week told a court that they have insufficient evidence to continue pursuing charges of drug trafficking against former Costa Rica park ranger, Mauricio Steller Fallas and asked the court to dismiss the charges.
Steller was convicted in August of this year of attempted murder as a result of his shooting of an alleged poacher of protected sea turtle eggs in September 2009.
Steller was sentenced to 12 years in prison for the crime.
The conviction was controversial, and drew the outrage of environmentalists who believed Steller was simply defending himself in the line of duty.
The case took a stunning twist just days later, however when after the attempted murder conviction, the Osa District Attorney announced that prosecutors intended to also press drug trafficking charges against Steller.
Prosecutors alleged at the time that Steller had discovered eight kilos of cocaine floating at sea around Caño Island in 2012, and rather than turning the drugs in, he instead delivered the cocaine to his father, Rodrigo Steller Jimenez – a decision that would ultimately cost Steller’s father his life.
On August 1st, 2012, Steller’s father and two other accomplices were apparently attempting to negotiate the sale of the drugs, when all three were murdered. A Colombian man and a Panamanian man went to trial for the triple murder in April 2014, but were acquitted.
ATTENTION: If you are seeing this message,
