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Busy Week for Samara Police

One man stabbed in front of police station and two detained for fighting at a bar

By Arianna McKinney

The Samara Police (Fuerza Publica) dealt with two incidents of aggression last week. As a result two men were detained and another man is, in effect, banished; he is restricted from coming within one kilometer of Samara.

The first incident, according to the police log, occurred on Sunday, August 7. Around 2:30 a.m. the police received a phone call about an altercation with a weapon at a bar in the center of Samara. Officers detained two people whom they found fighting, taking possession of a machete and cocaine from Costa Rican Roger Garita Gutierrez. Garita had cut the pinkie finger of a Columbian man, Callazas Sifuente, who had a refugee identification card. After being examined, Callazas was informed that he could submit a denunciation against Garita and around 3:15 they left the police station.

The second incident happened on Wednesday, August 10 at 1:37 a.m. A man from the United States, Anchy Copos, was reportedly stabbed on the left side of his stomach by Vasquez Carvajal in front of the Samara police delegation. Copos was treated by the Red Cross and Vasquez was taken to the penal court. Officer Luis Torres reported that Copos is doing a little better but is afraid that Vasquez will return, even though a judge ordered Vasquez not to come within 1 kilometer of where he committed the aggression. In effect, Torres explained that Vasquez, whom he described as a homeless drug addict from San Jorge de Coyote, can’t come to Samara.

Recently members of the community met with the force to express frustration regarding the way incidents such as these are handled by the police. Some might wonder why the two incidents were handled differently or why the two men involved in the bar fight were released less than an hour afterward. The police procedures might seem ineffective, especially to visitors from other countries where the police follow stricter procedures or have more authority against criminals.

Torres explained that the public force in Costa Rica is designed to be preventive. “We have a limit,” he said.

Samara police officers explained during an interview with VON that they also have different procedures to follow depending on whether the aggression results in a serious injury. The finger wound received by Callazas, for example, would not be considered serious, whereas the stab wound that Copos received was more serious. The rest is left up to the court system. For that reason, people are encouraged to submit denunciations.

More Regional News

Police Continue Investigation of the Poisoning Death of a High School Student

A bizarre and saddening incident has shocked the community of Nosara. Tuesday August 23, 17 year old Hernandez was intercepted by two men on his way to school. The victim explain to the judicial police that a man allegedly assaulted him with a gun, forced him to drink poison and then robbed him of 50 000 colones and his cell phone.

Man in Samara attacks mayor over property dispute

As Mayor Marcos Jimenez was visiting Samara on Tuesday, August 23, Manfred Spitzbarth struck him twice with a club, according to witness Oscar Aquilino Baltodano, first in the stomach and then in the arm. He also hit another municipal official in the shoulder, Collection Agent Steven Alfaro Arnáez, collection agent, who then took the club away from him.

Proper Road Maintenance Too Costly for Nosara

Road maintenance between Samara and Ostional is at a standstill. The National Roads Authority (Conavi) is responsible for ongoing maintenance to Route 160 between the two villages but is facing a question of quality versus financial and legal obsticles.

Lightning Strikes Killing American Woman

Thirty six year old, Jenifer Faith King, of Los Angeles, California was pronounced dead after being hit by lightning. The accident occurred in Ostional Beach, 11 kilometers from Nosara town, between three and four p.m. Thursday August 11.

Samara Police Proud Owners of Patrol Vehicle

Patrolling Samara and the surrounding communities just got easier for the public force with the addition of a valuable new resource: a pickup-style truck fitted with a topper to detain and transport suspects.

Pilgrimage to Los Angeles: A Journey of the Heart

Each year, on August 2, Susana Rivera makes her way to the hilltop village of Los Angeles, Nosara, Guanacaste. This year, like years prior, Susana along with hundreds of Nosarenos make the pilgrimage to the top of San Juan Mountain to show respect to La Virgen de Los Angeles (the Virgin of the Angels), patroness of Costa Rica.

Domestic Violence
Trying to Break the Cycle
Woman discusses her ongoing battle with spousal abuse

They had been married about 6 months the first time it happened. He came home drunk and she asked him for the money she had earned at her job. They started fighting and he knocked her down the stairs of the two-story house they lived in. She tried to defend herself with a broom, but he cut the broom into pieces and cut her, leaving a permanent scar along her neck.

Nicoya Takes Step to Begin the Process of Closing Garbage Dump

Various people from Nicoya and Samara know that the colonial city's garbage dump collapsed 12 years ago. Efforts to solve the "stinky" problem didn't work and the Ministry of Health has closed the dump twice. However, it appears that this time the Municipality of Nicoya is looking for a final solution. The Municipality decided to begin the technical closure to diminish the environmental impact, and to create a recycling center to reduce the quantity of refuse that is sent to the dump.

Association Will Seek Concession Over the Nosara River

The Nosara Development Association wants material from the Nosara River to benefit the community and expects that the Ministerio de Ambiente, Energía y Telecomunicaciones (Energy and Telecomunicatin Minister), through the Dirección de Geología y Minas (Geology and Mines Department), will take them into consideration, granting them a concession to exploit the river's materials.