The Criminal Court of First Instance of Quetzaltenango declared a lack of merit in favor of four men who had been detained by the National Civil Police (PNC) for their alleged connection with the death of Michelle Barreno, 33, which occurred on June 20 in zone 10 of that city.
The resolution benefited Walter Carrera Téllez, Edwin Alexander Martínez Téllez, Miguel Ángel Córdoba López and Juan Santizo Cumes, who regained their freedom after the first statement hearing.
In accordance with the judicial resolution, the judge considered that the evidence presented by the Public Ministry was not sufficient to link those accused of the crime of murder to trial.
The four men were captured minutes after the armed attack in which Barreno died. The arrest was made in zone 9 of Quetzaltenango, when they were traveling in a pick-up truck that, according to the preliminary investigation, would have been used to flee the scene of the incident.
During the operation, PNC agents seized three pistols, a Maverick shotgun and five cell phones, evidence that was kept under the protection of the Public Ministry.
Barreno’s death occurred in a business located at 0 street and Las Américas Avenue, zone 10 of Quetzaltenango. According to the first hypotheses, the case could be related to a debt acquired through loans under the drop-by-drop modality.
The Department of Information and Press of the Public Ministry was consulted if the prosecutor’s office in charge of the case will appeal the resolution issued by the Criminal Court of First Instance of Quetzaltenango; However, at the time of going to press, no response had been obtained.