Governor expresses outrage over ruling in case of 72-year-old woman beaten in Toa Baja

Gov. Jenniffer González Colón on Tuesday in Toa Baja where she helped deliver more than 90 property titles to families residing in towns to the west of San Juan. The governor called a recent ruling “very dangerous” in which cause was not found in a case where a 72-year-old woman and her grandson were attacked in Toa Baja. (Facebook via Jenniffer González Colón)

By The Star Staff

Gov. Jenniffer González Colón expressed her outrage on Tuesday over a ruling that no cause would be filed in the case of José Quesada Ojeda, who is accused of assaulting 72-year-old Evelyn Rodríguez Marrero and her grandson in the municipality of Toa Baja.

“I’m going to answer you as a citizen. I was outraged by the decision. Not only because we physically saw the blows the citizen received, but also because our elders are so vulnerable, that not even the judicial branch, in this case a judge -- I’m not going to blame the entire system -- was able to weigh the elements of the crime that, in fact, in my opinion, occurred,” the governor said in response to ques-tions from the press. “I’m glad the Department of Justice has spoken out, that the secretary of justice is focused on the fact that we have to look out for our victims of crime, and she [Rodríguez Marrero] is a victim of a crime. I hope the courts rule according to the law.”

“What I’m getting at here is that we must ensure the safety and well-being of every neighbor and every person,” González Colón added. “And it can’t be that the justice system leaves crime victims orphaned; it’s very dangerous. We have an office in the Department of Justice to assist crime victims. What do you do in a case like this? What’s the message? When a bunch of other people are charged with minor offenses. For example, Rey Charlie was charged with insulting someone, and this man beat up an elderly woman and there was no charge. Those are the things people see. And I’m not saying one was wrong and the other was right; I’m saying that one also has to consider the scale of the crime, and in this case, the physical impact on a woman. I think those are things we should evaluate.”

The governor was referring to the guilty verdict of Misael “Rey Charlie” González Trinidad for insulting Cap-tain Elvis Zeno during the welcoming parade for Maripily in May 2024.

González Colón said Justice Secretary Janet Parra Mer-cado is evaluating the details of this case to see if changes to the law are necessary.

In a radio interview (NotiUno), Rodríguez Marrero stated that an employee of the Bayamón Prosecutor’s Office told her not to go to court to hear the case because they were going to file it with the sworn statements.

“The police who assisted me did want me to be there,” Rodríguez Marrero said in response to questions from Nor-mando Honorio Valentín Quintana.

When asked if she had ever met prosecutor Carlos Gómez, who unsuccessfully brought her case before Judge Carolina Guzmán Tejada, Rodríguez Marrero replied, “I don’t know that man.”

Parra Mercado has requested a Rule 6 appeal hearing to be held this afternoon.