The two alleged perpetrators of the crime would have confessed to the authorities the reasons for this crime that caused consternation in Norte de Santander and mourning in the Colombian church.
Investigations related to the murder case of which the priest was a victim Ramón Arturo Montejo Peinado, in the municipality of Ocaña, Norte de Santander, continue to advance. The authorities have been able to clarify how the events occurred minute by minute.
The crime took place last Tuesday, June 4, in a parking lot in the Jesús Cautivo neighborhood and was recorded on security cameras in the sector.. The images show when the priest is approached by two men, who, using intimidation with a knife, ordered him to get out of his truck and hand it over.
However, the 45-year-old religious man reportedly resisted the theft and a fight broke out. At that moment The criminals stabbed him and ran over him with his own vehicle while fleeing. The body was left lying at the entrance to the parking lot.
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After learning of this fact, the authorities indicated an alleged theft as an initial hypothesis. However, as the hours passed, new details and other versions have become known that would give a twist to the investigation.
A revenge?
For this crime, the Norte de Santander Police captured José Antony Montilla Jovito, 29, and Misael Rodolfo Valdez Pedrosa, 21, as alleged perpetrators. The community, faced with the indignation generated by this murder, tried to lynch them.
“As soon as we learned about what happened, a ‘Plan Padlock’ was coordinated and when we managed to locate the vehicle, the chase began. The criminals left the car abandoned and hid in a stubble“, one of them being captured,” said Colonel Néstor Arévalo, commander of the Norte de Santander Police.
These two men were prosecuted and left at the disposal of the Prosecutor’s Office, in the middle of this process. They told how the priest’s murder was planned Ramón Arturo Montejo Peinado and the reasons behind it.
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The judicial authorities would have known that the Priest Montejo Peinado knew José Antony Montilla Jovito and he would even have trusted him to help him in a money lending business.
The information collected by the authorities indicates that This friendship deteriorated to such a point that Montilla Jovito would have felt humiliated and outraged by the religiousa situation that allegedly led him to plan how to murder him as part of an alleged revenge.
Apparently, Montilla looked for a friend to help him carry out the crime, which they would commit on Monday, but the representative of the The Catholic Church did not come to a meeting it had and that is why they decided to do so on Tuesday around noon.
It was known that José Antony and Misael Rodolfo waited patiently for priest Ramón Montejo to pick up their truck. that he had in a parking lot in the Jesús Cautivo neighborhood of Ocaña, to attack him.
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When the priest observed that the two men were in the parking lot, an argument occurred and several people who were around the place heard screams, so they decided to run to the corner.
in a video It is observed when Father Montejo Peinado opens the parking lot gate and comes out with a bloody shirtas if looking for help, since he had been stabbed repeatedly, but no one approached him.
Seconds later, it is seen that a vehicle leaves in reverse, running over the religious man, running its tires over him, and then taking off heading towards the San Fermín neighborhood. The person driving the priest’s vehicle was José Antony Montilla, while his accomplice was the co-pilot.
Investigations into the case continue and the authorities will be in charge of establishing whether this crime is related to a robbery, revenge or another motive. Meanwhile, the two captured were sent to prison.
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The church spoke out
The priest Ramón Arturo Montejo Peinado belonged to the San José parish of the Buenavista district of the diocese of Ocaña and, in addition, he was a delegate of the Catholic Church for the verification mechanisms of the peace agreements.
The murder has caused deep consternation in the community of the department of Norte de Santander and mourning in the Colombian Church. Monsignor Jorge Alberto Ossa Soto, archbishop of Nueva Pamplona and apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Ocaña, expressed his pain and categorical rejection.
“We deeply condemn that irrational violence has claimed the life of a priest who dedicated his life to spreading the message of peace and love of Jesus Christ. We categorically reject this barbaric act that threatens not only the life of a human beingbut also against the fundamental principles of coexistence and humanity,” said the monsignor.
