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A panel of three judges from the appeals court yesterday, Thursday, denied the defense’s request to dismiss the appeal filed by the Justice Department through the Attorney General of Puerto Rico regarding the judicial decision that eliminated the blood alcohol test in the case against Mayra Enid Nevarez Torresaccused of driving while intoxicated and causing the death of Justin Santos Delandabrother of the urban artist Archangel.
In the request to dismiss the appeal for “certiorari” from Justice, the defense attorneys Ramon Nevarez Andino and Ramon Nevarez Ortiz They argued that “the State failed to comply with the duty to adequately notify the presentation of the appeal within the established period and given that it did not justify said non-compliance in the same appeal filed, it must be dismissed.”
In the resolution -issued by the Judge Adames Soto and the judges Gloria Lebron Nieves and Beatriz Martinez Cordero– The defense was given until Monday, October 2, 2023, to respond to the appeal presented by the Attorney General of Puerto Rico.
Justice requested the revocation of the suppression of evidence to the Court of Appeal after, on July 21, the Judge Nerisvel Duran Guzman declared the motion to suppress evidence to be granted filed by the defense of Nevarez Torres. The lawyers highlighted that the State failed to comply with its obligation to obtain a court order before taking the blood sample, which is why the constitutional rights of the accused were violated.
However, the Public Ministry argued that Nevarez Torres underwent the process to obtain the blood sample voluntarily and, therefore, a court order was not necessary.
“From the testimonies presented, it is clear that Mrs. Nevarez Torres was ‘awake’, ‘alert’, ‘calm’ and ‘cooperative’ when undergoing the blood test and at no time did she refuse. “The Court of First Instance simply ignored that evidence, which constitutes, by definition, a gross abuse of discretion,” said the attorney general, Fernando Figueroa Santiago.
Duran Guzman’s decision provoked reactions from both Santos Delanda’s mother, Carmen Santoslike the urban artist Austin Agustin Santosbetter known as Archangel.
Nevarez Torres, 46, faces charges of violating Article 5.07 and two of 7.06, of Vehicle and Traffic Law 22 by driving negligently and while intoxicated. She also faces a less serious charge under Article 7.02 for driving while intoxicated.
According to the investigation, on November 21, 2021, Nevarez Torres was driving a Hyundai Tucson vehicle on the Teodoro Moscoso Bridge while intoxicated and against traffic, and caused the fatal accident in which several vehicles were involved. Santos Delanda died in the incident, while a passenger identified as Keven Monserrate Gandia suffered serious bodily injury.
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