Prosecutors in the Dominican Republic are fighting to keep six men allegedly involved in the fatal shooting of a New York City boy behind bars for 18 months before their trial begins.
Luis Vargas, 20; Derlin Mercado, 24; Caesar Ulloa, 23; Jose Almonte, 20; Elián Martinez, 21; and Tomás Peña, 32, are charged with criminal association, murder and aggravated attempted robbery in connection with the murder of Gioser Feliz, 9, last Wednesday.
At least five women were also arrested on Friday, though none have been charged.
Goiser was shot in the head after one of the defendants opened fire from a vehicle that intercepted the SUV the child’s father and girlfriend were traveling in 30 minutes after they landed on a flight from JFK Airport.
The boy was rushed to a local hospital, where he died two hours after surgery.
Authorities allege that Peña knew of the family’s travel plan and plotted the robbery and murder of Feliz’s father, Sergio Feliz, a close friend for nearly a decade.
Gioser Feliz arrived at Cibao International Airport in Santiago last Wednesday for a spring break trip with his family shortly before their car was targeted by a gang of thieves
Tomás Peña has been identified by Dominican Republic authorities as the mastermind behind the fatal attack of Gioser Feliz, a nine-year-old boy from New York City. He and five accomplices face three charges, including murder
Prosecutors revealed they have evidence showing he obtained information about “the day, time, flight number and airline on which Féliz was to arrive in the country.”
Peña relayed the details to his five accomplices, who traveled in a white Hyundai rental car to Cibao International Airport, where they saw the family and followed the Honda CRV that Sergio Feliz and his son were riding.
After the murder, Peña spent the night at a house where Sergio Feliz was staying and even accompanied him to make arrangements for a funeral service to be held in Santo Domingo on Friday.
In addition, authorities said Peña also relayed messages to the defendants about police investigations into the murder.
‘Tomás Peña (a) Tomasito, considered a friend by the minor’s father, accompanied him to (National Institute of Forensic Sciences), and to all the places the father had to go to organize his son’s funeral services and, using taking advantage of that proximity, communicated to them to the other members of the criminal gang, the details of the investigation, “said the prosecutor’s office.
Gioser’s uncle told the media that Feliz and Morel’s father have known each other for more than 10 years and were “actually brothers.”
“Since I learned about the death of the child Gioser Luis Féliz, I have been following up on the case,” Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader said in a statement.
‘I have been informed by the director of the National Police of the arrest of the 5 criminals who committed this heinous crime. Now justice must be ensured in the courts,” he added.
Sergio Feliz (left) and Tomás Peńa (right) had been friends for over a decade
Goiser Feliz was shot dead during the robbery in the Dominican Republic. His family is now working to get his body back to New York City for his funeral
The family is now working to return Gioser’s body to New York so that a funeral can be held.
The tragic shooting happened after the family was picked up by an unnamed friend of the boy’s father, Sergio Luis Feliz Mancebo.
After landing in the Dominican Republic for the child’s spring break, they were expected to spend several days in the country before returning to New York next Monday.
In a video posted after he lost his son, Sergio said the family was intercepted by the robbers as they drove through a toll booth.
The gang then opened fire as the driver of the car, one of the father’s friends, refused to stop and tried to flee.
One of the bullets hit the boy in the head and he was rushed to a local hospital for emergency surgery before being pronounced dead. His body will be transported back to the United States.
The attackers fled the scene in a white Hyundai, which police used to track and arrest them after discovering they had rented it shortly before the botched robbery.
A press release added that the men “admitted their participation in the shooting.”
“These detainees were captured by video surveillance cameras in this terminal and from there they followed the victim’s father,” a police spokesman added after the arrests.