Santiago court schedules hearing for suspect in garbage truck driver lynching

A judicial hearing is scheduled for Friday, October 23, in Santiago, Dominican Republic, to determine coercion measures against Jhovanny de Jesús Metz Cruz, known as ‘Macho’. He is identified as the central suspect in the brutal lynching of a garbage truck driver.

The incident occurred on April 17, when the victim was pursued by a mob of motorcyclists along Circunvalación Sur in the Bermúdez neighborhood. The attack concluded at the Santiago Palace of Justice parking lot, where the driver was cornered and killed with blunt objects and sharp weapons.

Metz Cruz was recently captured in Jamaica and repatriated to the Dominican Republic after being a fugitive. The Public Ministry is seeking 12 months of preventive detention. Seven other suspects are already in preventive detention regarding this case.