Murderers of Camaguey Rock Musician Get 25 and 40 Years

By CaféFuerte

HAVANA TIMES — A Cuban court convicted the four young men who stabbed musician Pedro Armando Junco Torres to death and seriously injured three others in Camaguey at the beginning of the year to 25 to 40 years in prison.

A communiqué issued by the province this Friday reported that the Provincial Court for Crimes against State Security in Camaguey had handed down ruling number 212, convicting the main culprits to 40 years in prison and imposing sentences of 25 years in prison to the two accomplices to the crimes, which took place in the early morning of May 16.

The convictions handed down by the court are as follows:

Yelko Martin Batista Williams, 40 years in prison for the crimes of illegal possession of weapons or explosives, injuries and two counts of attempted and pre-meditated murder.

Carlos Alvarez German, 40 years in prison for the crimes of illegal possession of weapons or explosives, injuries and two counts of attempted and pre-meditated murder.

Raciel Antonio Vazquez Morales, 25 years in prison for two counts of attempted murder and homicide.

Melson Sergio Varona Oduardo, 25 years in prison for two counts of attempted murder and homicide.

According to the communiqué, the convicted are entitled to appeal before the Supreme Court of Justice, as per the Law of Penal Proceedings.

Street Crime

The trial took place on December 4 at the Camaguey Provincial Court, where security was redoubled. The hearing lasted nearly six hours.

The prosecution had requested convictions of 23 to 30 years in prison, but the judge ruled to step up the convictions for all of the accused.

The case prompted concerns and outcries from Camaguey citizens, who publicly questioned the lack of security and growing street crime.

The crimes were committed on May 16 this year, when the aggressors murdered 28-year-old rock musician Junco Torres, popularly known as Mandy, and injured three others with knives. Mandy died after being stabbed 46 times.

The Fury of the Winds

The young aggressors had taken to the streets under the influence of alcohol and were arrested a mere 24 hours after committing the crimes. During the police interrogation, all of them confessed to their involvement in the crimes.

Mandy’s father, Pedro Junco Lopez, launched a campaign through his blog La furia de los vientos (“The Fury of the Winds”) to condemn his son’s murder.

In a recent post, Junco Lopez thanked the thousands of people from Camaguey who offered him their unconditional support after the tragedy.

“To all who sent letters and emails or phoned me from different parts of Cuba and abroad to offer me their fraternal support, beyond creeds and political convictions, to all the fathers and mothers in Cuba and around the world, I send a sincere embrace and my commitment to struggle tirelessly to restore the peace that is today denied our citizens at night,” Junco Lopez wrote.