Port of Spain: Police officer under trial in Ronaldo murder case

Trinidad and Tobago: A 25-year-old man, who is a Municipal Police Officer by profession, went under trial in the case of the murder of an individual by shooting in Port of Spain. The man was taken to the High Court for an appearance in front of the master for the hearing in the case on Wednesday, 24 April, under the charges of murder.

The police officer, accused of murder on Friday, 22 April, is identified among the public with the documented name of Josia Diaz. Diaz belongs to a resident along Mt Pleasant Road, Arima, a locality in the northern part of Trinidad Island.

Meanwhile, the man who lost his life in the shooting by the accused police officers in Port of Spain is identified as a 32-year-old man whose documented name was Ronaldo Cedeno. The deceased victim belonged to the resident along Acono Road in the Maracas locality of Saint Joseph, a town in the northwestern part of Trinidad.

As per the reports, the incident of the shooting on the victim took place on the day at nearly 5:57 pm, while the police officer driving a marked motor vehicle of the police department. he was driving along the road at South Quay in the vicinity of the Old Agostini Building in Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago.

In the evening of the day, the police officer faced the victim, Ronaldo Cedeno, in the way who allegedly threw a stone in the direction of the motor vehicle, that the accused officer was occupying at the time. The stone hit the motor vehicle, leading to breaking the window of the front right side of the car.

It is said that in response, the accused police officer pulled out his licensed service firearm and pulled the trigger while facing the shot in the direction of the victim man. The fired shot by the police officers hit the upper body of the victim which eventually led to his death.

Straight after, the police officers got out of his motor vehicle and attended to the injured man. After witnessing his condition, the officers took the injured victim to the Port of Spain General Hospital for treatment. In the hospital, within less than an hour the man was pronounced dead by the medical staff on duty after the examination and relevant efforts.

Subsequently, the police officer was taken into custody by the police department after knowing about the Port of Spain murder incident. The accused was taken under arrest by the officers from the Homicide Bureau of Investigations, Region One Office. The action was taken after conducting the initial investigation into the case.

The investigation was conducted under the supervision of Inspectors John and Mongroo with Ag Inspectors Ramsumair and woman Ag ASP Bridglal. After the proceedings, the accused was advised to be charged with the offence of murder by Roger Gaspard, the Director of Public Prosecutions.