Senator urges citizens to assist authorities in response to homicides in Coamo.

District VI (Guayama) Sen. Rafael Santos Ortiz has maintained communication with Puerto Rico Police Superintendent Joseph González Falcón in order to learn details about the actions underway in response to a rash of homicides in Coamo over the past month.

By THE STAR STAFF

District VI (Guayama) Sen. Rafael “Rafy” Santos Ortiz expressed his concern on Tuesday regarding recent homicides reported in the municipality of Coamo, while also calling for citizen collaboration.

“Coamo is a town of noble and hardworking people whose quality of life has been tarnished in recent days by these violent acts that undoubtedly deserve everyone’s condemnation,” the senator said.

Santos Ortiz noted that in the early hours of the day he maintained communication with Puerto Rico Police Superintendent Joseph González Falcón in order to learn details about the incidents and the actions underway.

“It was a productive conversation, in which the superintendent shared information with me about the progress of the investigations and the security plans being implemented to guarantee the protection of the public,” he added. “There is a clear focus and an aggressive work plan to address this situation.”

The senator also said he had contacted Coamo Mayor Juan Carlos García Padilla, reiterating his willingness to collaborate and join forces in the fight against crime in the municipality.

Santos Ortiz called on citizens to cooperate with the authorities.

“It is important that anyone with information about these events share it confidentially with the Puerto Rico Police,” he said. “Security is a shared responsibility, and citizen collaboration is key to solving these cases.”

The most recent in a rash of homicides in Coamo was reported in the early hours of Tuesday, at kilometer 5.1 of Road 5556, in the Pastos Santa Ana neighborhood of the southern town.

Upon arrival at the scene, uniformed officers discovered the body of Coamo resident Stanley Edney Zayas, 37 -- who was identified by a family member -- inside a black 2005 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck, bearing gunshot wounds to various parts of his body and severely burned.

On Monday, authorities reported that two individuals shot to death in an apartment at the Jardín del Edén Public Housing Complex in Coamo had been identified as Eduardo González Mateo, 41, and Yilennies Figueroa Burgos, 31. The Police stated that both individuals sustained gunshot wounds that resulted in their immediate death at the scene.

It was reported that González Mateo had a criminal record with the Puerto Rico Police Department related to controlled substances.

On March 25, a violent death was reported around 6:14 a.m. on Wednesday on Road PR-138, in the Palmarejo ward, Vega Puente sector, where the body of a man with multiple gunshot wounds was discovered at the scene.

And on March 22, another violent death was reported around 7:56 p.m. on Road 576, Km 3.5, in the Sabana Hoyos sector of Coamo’s Idelfonso ward.

Upon arrival at the scene, the police discovered the body of Bryan Bermúdez Martinez -- a 31-year-old resident of Santa Isabel -- who had been shot.

All of the aforementioned cases remain under investigation.