On December 31, six properties were raided, as part of the investigation into the murder of the lawyer and candidate for deputy of Together for Peru, Percy Ipanaqué. The request was requested by the Dirincri to the Prosecutor’s Office and authorized by the judge of the Second Preparatory Investigation Court of Castilla, David Arly Sosa Zapata.
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The raided homes belong to the immediate surroundings of Ipanaqué Navarro, who died on November 28 in Piura when he was shot by a hitman aboard a motorcycle.
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The witnesses against whom the raids were requested are Nancy Linares Carrión, who according to the PNP would be Ipanaqué’s partner; Hugo Linares Carrión and Arnaldo Linares Curo, brother-in-law and father-in-law of the victim respectively. In addition, a search was requested of the homes of Luis Antonio More Zapata, Roberto Mendoza Cadillo and Wilser García López, people in the deceased’s work and friend circle.
The Dirincri’s basis for requesting the raids were the testimonies of two workers who lived at the Ipanaqué home, who indicated that after the murder, the aforementioned group of people arrived at the place and supposedly took the laptop, tablet and 6 USBs belonging to the deceased.
Furthermore, as stated in the Dirincri document, both workers indicated that Nancy Linares had allegedly ordered them to remove two security cameras located at the main door and work room, respectively.
In her statement, according to the Dirincri, Nancy Linares did not specify that she had gone to Percy Ipanaqué’s home with the group of people indicated by the workers.
Meanwhile, his brother, Hugo Linares, indicated that both his sister, his father and the lawyer Roberto Mendoza did go to the deceased’s home, but only to pick up the clothing so that he could be dressed in the morgue.
Arnaldo Linares and Roberto Mendoza have not yet given their statement, but have requested that it be rescheduled. Nancy Linares, Hugo Linares and Luis More, indicated that they entered the home only to pick up clothes for the deceased.
Percy Espinoza’s lawyer: “The raids are part of the investigations”
In dialogue with La República, Percy Espinoza’s legal representative, Julio Huertas, mentioned that these are preliminary investigations and that none of the aforementioned is included as a defendant in the investigation, but rather they are only witnesses whose statements were requested. Likewise, he stated that he cannot affirm or deny that those referred to have taken the equipment mentioned by the two workers.
“Police reports are not statements or accusations,” he stressed.
He added that the equipment has been located in the raids, but it is up to the PNP to publicly indicate at which address they were found.
“I must specify that Mrs. Nancy, as Dr. Ipanaqué’s partner, naturally has every right to put her things in safekeeping. In the event that it is proven that she took the things, it does not mean obstruction. She has every right to take them, since they have material or sentimental importance both for her and for the future of her children,” he noted.
Regarding the link between Nancy Linares and Percy Ipanaqué, the lawyer indicated that they were a couple. When asked about the statement of the deceased’s father, who indicates that they had been separated for several years, the lawyer asked not to fall into “conjectures” and not to “put people in contradictions” because that does not help achieve the main objective of the investigation, which is to identify the hitman.
Percy Espinoza’s lawyer: “It generates suspicion that his cell phone appeared stained with blood when it initially was not”
On the other hand, the lawyer highlighted that his client’s cell phone could not be turned on, even though at the time of the crime it was on the passenger side, so he did not receive any damage. Likewise, he mentioned that initially he did not have any blood marks, however, now he does.
“No one has opposed the raids. Everything is going as requested. We demand that the investigation be impartial, since there is already a suspicious person, but he would not be included, even though he shows willingness to participate in the proceedings,” he said. When asked about the identity of that person, he indicated that the name will be kept confidential out of respect for the principle of presumption of innocence.
Roberto Mendoza’s lawyer: “Nothing was seized in the raid on my client”
For his part, Roberto Mendoza’s lawyer, Juan Pizarro, highlighted that nothing linked to the deceased was seized or found in the raid on his client’s home. “We allowed them to search all of my client’s equipment on the same day of the raid and nothing was found,” he said.
He mentioned that his client and Mrs. Nancy Linares went to the deceased’s home to pick up a suit for the victim. “I don’t know if they showed up with more people,” he said.
“The Prosecutor’s Office has so far not summoned my client as an investigator or a defendant, he is simply another witness. A witness to any act except the murder of Ipanaqué. Regardless of this, we have already submitted a request for his statement to be taken because we are ready to help identify the culprit,” he mentioned.
Roberto Mendoza’s lawyer: “There is a very irregular handling of the evidence in this investigation”
Regarding the case, he warned of certain irregularities: “It is said that Ipanaqué’s cell phone was found with blood stains, even though the equipment was in the right hand and the shots were received on the left side. I consider that there is a very irregular handling of the evidence in this investigation. Let the PNP explain why that cell phone appears stained with blood,” he noted.
“A serious investigation is needed. Apparently the death of my friend Percy is being used to distract attention and use it as a smokescreen. In Castilla, unfortunately we have in Judge David Sosa a fearful judge who cares more about his chair and his salary than about doing justice because that resolution (of search) is not even properly founded,” he said.
He insisted that the judicial resolution does not have objective foundations and the necessary filter had not been carried out to determine whether or not the search measure was necessary.
In that same sense, he added that in Piura “the Police have recently dedicated themselves to planting defendants so that we practically have a factory of criminals. I myself have shown that this has happened in certain cases,” he said.
