Orange Walk Police continue investigate Double Homicide
Police in Orange Walk continue their investigation into the double homicide of Junior Triminio and Christopher Calderon. The duo was gunned down on Zericote Street in Orange Walk Town on Sunday evening during a brazen attack by a masked man. Triminio, a gang leader in that municipality, received seven shots to the body and head. He died while being taken to the Northern Regional Hospital. Calderon died while receiving treatment. The murder of both men, specifically Triminio’s, has Orange Walk residents worried that retaliation would soon occur. This is why authorities are taking extra precautions to prevent further violence. News Five’s Hipolito Novelo reports.
Hipolito Novelo, Reporting
A double murder on Sunday evening has left the Orange Walk community uneasy. Thirty-four-year-old gang leader Junior Triminio and nineteen-year-old Christopher Calderon were shot multiple times while they were on Zericote Street. The duo was exiting Louisiana Football field after watching an under-fifteen football tournament when a man wearing a ski mask pounced on the unsuspecting victims. Triminio’s murder was a hit; the killer set chase after Triminio who ran behind a house, finishing the job. Triminio’s friend, Calderon was collateral damage.
Another of Triminio’s friend was recently killed. On July tenth, Alberto Vargas was shot and killed in what authorities believe was a drug transaction gone terribly wrong. Five weeks after, someone is now hiding behind Vargas’ name and picture to claim responsibility for Triminio’s murder. That person also threatened Triminio’s family and friends.
ACP Joseph Myvett
ACP Joseph Myvett, Head, National Crimes Investigation Branch
“We have viewed the Facebook post but we know that Alberto Vargas has died. We have also put in an additional team of major crimes investigators in the north to investigate these incidents.”
Reporter
“Is this related to that murder in so far that it is the same drug gangs that are beefing with each other?”
ACP Joseph Myvett
“Well we cannot say that we know at some point Alberto Vargas was associated with the deceased Triminio.”
Reporter
“Associated as an ally and not a rival? “
ACP Joseph Myvett
“Yes, as a friend.”
The murder of Triminio has triggered the rage of his associates and friends and might possibly fuel an act of revenge. With the intent to prevent another fatality, authorities in the town are keeping a close eye on all players
Elodio Aragon Jr., Minister of State, National Security
Elodio Aragon Jr.
“You must understand that in all are communities there are people who are involved in criminal activities whether it be drugs, whether it be gangs, whether it be crime. In all our communities we have these people and the law has to do what it has to do but sometimes it’s easier said than done because it’s not only about the Policing aspect of this. It’s about the prosecution of these people so there are a lot of things that makes it not so easy. These people are not new to the police. They are known to the police department just like in any of our communities across this country, people are known to the police because the police know they are involved. It is about tying things up together to get them off the streets and sometime it is not so easy. You have a court system that gives people bail. You all know the situation.”
Triminio is an example of that situation. In 2017, Triminio along with Vargas and Jose Medina was busted with close to five thousand grams of marijuana. The trio was jointly charged with Possession of Controlled drugs with the intent to supply. They pled not guilty and were released on bail. It is not certain if Triminio was cleared of the charge or if the case fell through the cracks of the justice system. What is clear though is that Triminio was a free man- a free man with a target on his back.
Kevin Bernard
Kevin Bernard, Mayor of Orange Walk Town
“It is high time for us to regroup, to look at what needs to be done. I mean there were police officers present at football game at the same time but they were unable to do anything. This thing happened so fast. But as the mayor of this town and not just as me and the mayor, but the society, the people must work together with the police. I think that is what is important in order for us to curb crime. We must be able to work with the police. The police sometimes need answers. People are afraid. I get at the same time you don’t blame people because people do not want to say thing at times because they fear their lives. But things are happening in our small little neck of woods here in Orange Walk, especially in my division in the east; it is part of our town and so it raises alarm.”
Reporting for News Five, I am Hipolito Novelo.
