Today the three accused were arraigned at the San Pedro Magistrate's court where they were denied bail. This story would have ended here but today the family of the accused came out publicly claiming police are wrongly accusing their sons. And, they are also alleging the boys were beaten while in police custody. So badly, that they allege one of them had to be taken to hospital for treatment.
Now as you heard, police detained 8 individuals but only charged three of them. The minor was released for a brief period before being formally arrested and charged. In a recorded video he and another who was also detained but later released, gave their testimony about what they say was police brutality. We got this video from their families:
Voice of: Arrested Minor
"Two GSU and the driver went and told us that they would take us up the coast for a ride. Then we went and they ask us about some jet ski. We told them that we didn't know about it. They started to hit me on my chest and my ribs. They took us by some bushes and they dash Chris in the bushes and they started to beat him up. They slam him and kicked him and fired gunshots around his ears. They started to chop me."
Voice of: Formerly Detained
"The other day they started to call Chris. They call him around 9:30-10:00 at night. They took him upstairs and then about half an hour Christian came back telling us that they handcuff him to a chair, wrap tape around his mouth and put a plastic bag over his head and then were about to put pepper spray with the plastic bag over his head, so he couldn't breathe. Instantly that would intoxicate him. He can die instantly with that. And then he received an important call telling him that he has to go somewhere. So he told Chris he was lucky that he received a call and he had to let him go and he brought us back to the cell. He said that he is going to kill us and is going to deal with us one time and he is going to make us go missing and he doesn't care because he came here to kill us - kill everyone who they think has something to do with anything. I think he was on drugs or something. He came in punching everyone inside and then he just grab Chris and tried to drag him out and I told him no, you won't take my brother. So I started to hold my brother and drag him back and he just grab me from my hair, he and 3 other officers, took me from my hair and then he grab my face and lift it up and then he pepper spray me in my face and my mouth. Then he started to drag me and then almost dislocated my head off my shoulder and then he pull me at the end of the door. I knock his hand down, because I know if I knock a police officer they can charge me. They just want us to knock them, so they can find some reason to charge us. I didn't. I just knock his hand down. I escaped from him. He hurry took my brother outside and I was cleaning my face. I just wanted to help my brother. I told him that he will not kill us. You will kill us in here in front of the camera. We are not going to come out from here."
Christian Espat is no stranger to the San Pedro Police Department. In 2016 Espat was arrested and charged for prohibited firearm, kept prohibited ammunition and drug trafficking. Then in 2017 Christian Espat again was arrested and charged, this time for attempted murder and use of deadly means of harm. So, this history of run ins with the police is either a testament of consistent outlaw behavior or evidence that the police department has something against the Espat's. The family claims it is the latter.
Voice of: Formerly Detained
"They always want to put him like those bogus charge and then he always ended up winning, because they don't have enough evidence. They just want to put it on him because they want to look good like they are doing their jobs - they want to put it to anyone, as long as they are doing their jobs, even if you don't have anything to do with it. People don't like us because of our family from a long time and now they want to pass down those bad things on us. They want to say that we do the same things. Not all of us do the same things. All we want is to live our lives. We are fishermen. We work Monday through Sunday. We never take a day off unless the weather is bad and we really can't go out in the water. We are fishermen. That's all we know how to do. We live and grew up being fishermen, all our family. All we do is fishing."
Prisila Estrada, Mother of Detained Suspect
"Other do things and they accused my sons. They have to investigate properly before they hurt somebody. If it was them that committed the crime, they I think it is justify to treat them like that, but I know it is not them. My son even cries saying it wasn't them. My next son he came out spitting blood, because they put that thing in his mouth."
Reporter
"People might say he has problems with the police."
Prisila Estrada, Mother of Detained Suspect
"Yes, because they put everything on him and they do things to him. I feel bad as a mother because I know my son isn't like that. They have to investigate properly, because the perpetrators weren't hispanic men. They say they were persons with dark complexion."
Margarita Chi, Mother of Detained Minor
"My little son was at home and he didn't came out back. I got all the texts that he was texting that he was at home. At around 1pm he went to the shop. He didn't take long. 22 minutes after he came. He went to buy and came back and was texting his girlfriend telling her that he is already home. If those boys have a bad name because of their past generation that doesn't have any with them right now. They are kids. Let them live their lives like people, because sometime the same police of the same law is trying to make them into a criminal."
The trio will be remanded to the Hattieville prison until their next court hearing set for September 12th.
We should note that since 2009 - we have covered the murders of 4 persons named Espat on San Pedro. Charlie Espat was found buried in a shallow graves in Orange Walk in June 2012. Then, Byron Estrada Espat, was killed in the Daddy Rock Night Club in January 2013. Then, 22 year-old Rolando "Rolito" Espat Jr. was killed by a gunman in September 2014. And, in 2015, Baby Daniel Espat was killed. All were related.
