Sunday, January 13, 2008

Crime on the rise in Merida?

In the latest development on the police blotter, there was a shooting last night in the Gran Plaza mall. The local newspapers report that 3 persons ran into the mall, looking to escape from the Policia Judicial which was after them. At some point, just outside Sanborn's at the entrance to the mall, shots were fired and one of the bad guys was wounded. The other two were subdued and all were taken away under extreme police escort, including federal and state police, all heavily armed. Some small arms were seized, as well as a grenade.

This after several high-profile drug-related arrests in the last few months, all people from somewhere else of course. The newspaper will always mention that the suspects tenian aspecto fuereño, which means that they didn't look Yucatecan, whatever that might suggest.

The rumour mill included versions that they were hired thugs, after the chief of the state police, who was having dinner apparently in Italianni's with his 19 year old son, who just recently ran over and killed two people standing on the median on Paseo de Montejo, waiting to cross the street, just before Christmas. Oops. "It was an accident. It could have happened to anyone" was the police chief's unfortunate and hardly empathetic comment to one local newspaper. After that, a news blackout with no mention of the case in any of the three newspapers. Nothing happened to the kid. A drug test was not performed because the police lab had "run out of the chemicals" needed to do the test.

Speaking of newspapers, just last week, there was a picture of a 90 year man in jail for robbing a stone basin from a property. A NINETY year old man. It was a family dispute, nothing serious. People here go to jail all the time for robbing a bicycle, or perhaps a piece of copper tubing. But running over some people in your car? Not a problem, apparently.

The other theory, coming back to the Gran Plaza shooting, was that there were 6 people who were intent on robbing the mall. Robbing the mall. Sounds like a plan.

In other words, no one really knows what happened this time. And from the way the newspapers handle information, no one is going to know what really happened any time soon.

8 comments:

: : ~ said...

This week there were 5 robberys on the block where i live. Yes, it's a new colonia (27 months) and most people are out working most of the day, but doing it on a saturday afternoon... man, those thieves have some balls.
So, yes. Crime is on the rise and the culprit is not necessarily the huaches or desperate people who lost everything on the recent natural catastrophes.
Months ago a thief broke into a house, also on my block. He managed to remove the window protector. Weeks later, they cath him. Turns out it was your typical mall pavo, north resident, nice car and parents with the right amount of money that made the officer carrying the case suggest the victim rectify her statement.

William Lawson said...

Mall pavo - I like that term.

Yes, it seems like now that the federal government has lifted the lid on the sewer in the rest of the country, the cockroaches and human sewage is seeping into the Yucatan at last.

Add to that the chances of getting caught being slim at best, and there's your motivation for anyone to just go out and do whatever they want, especially if you have influential parents or a society last name.

Theresa in Mèrida said...

We have had a case pending for well over a year,against an attorney who defrauded us for thousands of dollars.Last we heard was that it is almost done,but we don´t believe it,sigh. Meanwhile,as far as we know, the pair of ex-cons who walked off with 3 of our fans (worth about $280usd) while our house was being remodeled are still in jail, TWO years later! Ironically,the inept thieves had just gotten out of jail in Cancun when they decided to give crime another go. We got two of the fans back, but the more expensive of the them disappeared, so they are in jail for stealing a $160 usd fan.
regards,
Theresa

Anonymous said...

If I take a pencil for Theresa, I am making a note to GIVE IT BACK IMMEDIATELY!

Bill

Anonymous said...

The next time a borrow a pencil from Theresa, I am making a note to GIVE IT BACK IMMEDIATELY!

William Lawson said...

Yes Theresa, money is everything here in the land of the pheasant and the deer. The more you have, the more justice you can procure for yourself.

Anonymous said...

Hey can anyone tell me if this place can be safe for my family and has ther been any Cartels lately ?

William Lawson said...

Don't worry - everything is hunky dory here. No cartels yet to worry about.