Sean Díaz de León and Juan Carlos Pagán Bonilla made non-guilty allegations in federal court regarding the murders of two transgender women in Humacao.
Both were bail for the moment, so they will remain admitted to the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Guaynabo for the rest of the judicial process, the first in the federal district of Puerto Rico that includes violation of the law against hate crimes.
Despite having confessed the crime to the authorities, Pagán Bonilla pleaded not guilty in a motion submitted yesterday to the federal court.
The defense of Pagán Bonilla submitted the motion yesterday renouncing his right to appear at the hearing scheduled for today, in which he could request bail and that the charges against him be detailed.
Pagán Bonilla indicated that he was not interested in requesting a deposit at the moment, although he reserved the right to claim it later.
“The court is requested to enter a plea of not guilty for the charges submitted in the indictment,” indicates the motion of Pagán Bonilla.
For his part, Díaz de León did appear before federal magistrate Marshal Morgan, via videoconference from prison, since the court remains closed as part of the measures against COVID-19.
Díaz de León’s lawyers also consented to the detention without bond, for the time being, but reserved the right to raise the matter later.
However, the magistrate indicated that both defendants meet the presumption of risk of flight and the community, so they must remain admitted.
While, Díaz de León did not make an allegation of guilty or not guilty directly, on the recommendation of his lawyers, which caused controversy during the hearing. The accused remained silent and his defense asked the court to enter the allegation of not guilt by him.
Prosecutor José Contreras raised a flag indicating that he had been warned by lawyers shortly before the hearing that Díaz de León would remain silent before the magistrate.
Given this scenario, Contreras requested at least a week to investigate whether it was legally possible to do so under the court’s rules.
For his part, attorney Christopher W. Adams, a specialist in death penalty cases, indicated that the rules do allow it and that he has done it multiple times for 25 years in the Detroit district, in addition to the fact that the rules do indicate it. .
“It is the right of the accused,” he said.
For his part, magistrate Morgan acknowledged that it does occur in other districts, while it is “unusual” that it occurs in Puerto Rico, although he noted that it recently arose in another case before magistrate Camille Vélez Rivé.
So they read one of the rules stating that if a defendant “does not enter an allegation or his organization fails to appear, the court must enter an ‘not guilty’ allegation by the defendant.”
“I think it couldn’t be clearer … Given this particular situation, I don’t see that there is any reason to postpone (the hearing),” said Morgan, who proceeded to file a plea of not guilty in the absence of Díaz De León.
The Public Ministry now has 14 days to discover evidence to the lawyers of both defendants, in a case that is eligible for the death penalty.
Adams was assigned to Díaz de León’s defense as an expert in death penalty cases, while Pagán Bonilla was assigned Steven M. Potolsky.
Pagán Bonilla and Díaz de León were indicted by a federal grand jury for the murder of Serena Angelique Velázquez and Layla Peláez Sánchez on April 22.
Both face four charges, including two for using a firearm in relation to crimes of violence, one for vehicle theft resulting in death, and one for destruction of property with explosive materials.
The indictment includes allegations of violation of the federal “Hate Crime Prevention” Act, reported W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico.
It is the first time that someone in the federal district of Puerto Rico has been charged with a hate crime., confirmed the federal prosecution, since both defendants were arrested through a complaint from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI, for its acronym in English).
According to the affidavit, Díaz de León and Pagán Bonilla went to the residence of the victims Serena Angelique Velázquez and Layla Peláez Sánchez in Las Piedras, where they socialized during the night and published a video of them on the Snapchat social network. The FBI indicates that the images identify their faces.
The complaint indicates that, according to Pagán Bonilla’s confession, after having sexual intercourse, “Díaz was furious because she (victim 2) was a transgender and did not reveal that fact to him before … Díaz told Pagán that he wanted shoot and kill victim 2 “.
The statement details how the two later planned to take the victims allegedly to buy marijuana, but on the way Díaz de León shot both of them.
The confession adds that they searched for Pagán’s vehicle and then left the bodies in the car of one of the victims, under a bridge in Humacao, where they set him on fire.
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