The Investigative Police (PDI) arrested a 15-year-old Chilean national this Saturday in Huechuraba. He is under investigation for his alleged involvement in the carjacking of CNN Chile journalist Mónica Rincón on the night of October 19 in Santiago.
According to fotech.cl, an armed group intercepted Rincón and stole her vehicle. The assailants fired into the air to intimidate her, but she was unharmed. The journalist later described what happened as a “very violent” experience.
The sources disagree on where the attack occurred. Cooperativa places it on Autopista Central and Emol on Costanera Norte.
The arrest was carried out by the PDI’s North Central Metropolitan Robbery Investigation Brigade (BIRO), which worked with the Western Metropolitan Prosecutor’s Office. Inspector Nicolás Cifuentes, of that brigade, explained that they identified the teenager through "an intensive analysis cross-referencing information."
According to the PDI, the teenager is believed to be linked to a gang that allegedly committed several vehicle thefts between the night of October 19 and the early hours of October 20. Prosecutor Marcelo Soto, of the Western Prosecutor’s Office, said a woman and her son identified the suspect as one of those who stole their car.
According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the gang allegedly used that same vehicle to subsequently attack the journalist. Emol reported that investigators are still looking into whether the teenager was directly involved in the attack on Rincón.
Because the suspect is a minor, his case was placed in the juvenile criminal justice system, which tries people aged 14 to 17 under its own rules. He appeared at a detention review hearing, where a judge checks whether the arrest was lawful. The court ordered provisional detention, a precautionary measure equivalent to pretrial detention for adults.
The sources do not provide the case’s RIT or RUC (the numbers used by the Judiciary and the Prosecutor’s Office to identify a case). They also do not report what offenses he has been formally charged with or how long the investigation will last.
"The brigade continues to carry out investigative work with the aim of dismantling this criminal gang," Inspector Cifuentes said. The PDI and the Prosecutor’s Office are continuing forensic examinations to identify and locate the other members of the group.
