SANTIAGO, Dominican Republic (WABC) — Six men are in custody in the Dominican Republic and charged in the fatal shooting and attempted robbery of a 9-year-old Bronx boy, and two of the suspects are family friends, according to a relative of the victims.
Gioser Luis Féliz, 9, was shot in the head Wednesday in Santiago after arriving from New York with his father.
Reports say Gioser and his father, Sergio Luis Feliz Mancebo, left JFK Airport on Wednesday for a spring break trip to see family.
They met a driver at Cibao International Airport to embark on what was to be a six-day trip to make memories.
Police say that a few moments after getting into the car, that vehicle was hit by a group of thieves.
The driver refused to stop and that’s when the suspects pulled out their guns and fired a barrage of bullets into the vehicle.
A bullet hole pierced the left rear passenger side window of the rented Honda CRV. The 4th grader was in the back seat when he was hit in the head.
“I just looked back and saw my son bleeding,” said the victim’s father.
He was rushed to hospital but did not survive.
Five men were arrested on Thursday, less than 24 hours after the crime. Police say they confessed to the shooting and were due in court.
They were identified as Luis Ángel Vargas Brito, 18 years old; Derlin Javier Mercado Martinez, Cessar Junior Ulloa Cuevas; José Manuel Almonte Santana (Buki), 20 years old, and Elian Martínez Sánchez (Odalis), 22 — all residents of the Cienfuegos section of Santiago.
Authorities announced Friday that a sixth man, Tomás Peña Morel Tomacito, 32, was also arrested in connection with the fatal shooting.
Police also said five women were detained for investigation purposes.
Eyewitness News reporter Darla Miles spoke with Julian Feliz, Gioser’s uncle and the brother of his father, Sergio. He said two of the accused, Morel Tomacito and Mercado Martinez, are friends of the family. Feliz said Morel Tomacito has known Mancebo all his life and is like a brother to him. He says the women arrested are the girlfriends of the other suspects and that investigators are trying to find out what they know.
According to Feliz, Morel Tomacito was there two weeks ago and knew about the impending trip, set up Mancebo and was the ringleader who orchestrated the robbery gone wrong. He says Martinez helped control Mancebo’s movement. Both are located in the Dominican Republic. The driver of the family’s SUV is not involved, Feliz says.
Initially, the family just thought it was a violent, random crime.
Feliz says Mancebo was excited to see his mother and Gioser was seeing his grandmother for only the second time in his life. Feliz says it was perceived that since Mancebo was on vacation he brought a large amount of cash.
“When you go on vacation you’re going to spend money, so there they don’t know if you’re carrying $100 or $1,000, so they try to rob you to find out what you’re carrying,” Feliz said.
Authorities are still working to find the fatal weapon and the investigation continues.
A vigil was held on Friday. They are now preparing to transport the boy’s body back to the United States. A funeral is expected to be held in the Bronx next week.
His heartbroken father is still in the Dominican Republic trying to get answers.
The president of the Dominican Republic tweeted that he has been following the case and that justice must be guaranteed in the courts.
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