Miguel Negron Vazquez, a former Puerto Rico police officer, has been sentenced to serve 12 months and one day in prison for making false statements to a Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) during a federal investigation into civil rights violations.
The investigation centered around the fatal beating of Jose Luis Irizarry Perez, 19, who was struck with police batons during an election evening celebration at the Las Colinas housing development in Yauco, Puerto Rico, on Nov. 5, 2008.
Negron Vazquez pleaded guilty to falsely telling the FBI that two officers, who later pleaded guilty to unnecessarily striking Irizarry Perez with their batons, never approached or interacted with the victim during the incident.
According to documents filed in connection with the guilty pleas, two former Puerto Rico police officers violated the constitutional rights of Irizarry Perez by striking him with their police batons while another former police officer physically restrained Irizarry Perez during the incident.
U.S. District Court Judge Juan M. Perez Gimenez issued the sentence, which will be followed by two years of supervised release. During the two-year term, Negron Vazquez will be under federal supervision and risks additional prison time should he violate any terms of his supervised release.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s San Juan Division and is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Gerard Hogan and Trial Attorneys Shan Patel and Olimpia E. Michel of the Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jose A. Contreras of the District of Puerto Rico.
“Lying to the FBI or concealing information during the course of a federal civil rights investigation undermines the public’s trust in the criminal justice system and will not be tolerated,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta.
“Today’s sentence affirms that law enforcement officers are not above the very laws they are sworn to uphold,” said U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodriguez-Vélez. “The defendant’s conduct undermined law enforcement’s expectation of honesty from public officials and those who desire to serve.”
Related Federal Cases
- Miguel Negron Vazquez, Making False Statements to the FBI, Puerto Rico 2023 · Puerto Rico
- Miguel Negron Vazquez, Making False Statements to the FBI, Puerto Rico 2023 · Puerto Rico
- Miguel Negron Vazquez, Making False Statements to the FBI, Puerto Rico 2023 · Puerto Rico
- Miguel Negron Vazquez, Making False Statements to the FBI, Puerto Rico 2023 · Puerto Rico
- Miguel Negron Vazquez, Making False Statements to the FBI, Puerto Rico 2023 · Puerto Rico
Key Facts
- State: Federal
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
ðŸâ€â€™ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
Public CorruptionPublic CorruptionPublic CorruptionPublic Corruption