Mexican Store Owner Thwarts Armed Robbers — Arrested on Attempted Murder Charges

A business owner in Central Mexico fought off three armed robbers, managed to disarm one of them, and shot them. His reward — several days in jail on attempted murder charges.

Omar Sandoval, a small store owner in Tlatelolco, Mexico, survived a robbery attempt this week when three suspects carrying knives and handguns held him up after he closed his business, Mexico’s Excelsior reported. Rather than give in to the robbers’ demands, Sandoval fought off the attackers using hand-to-hand techniques, disarmed one of the gunmen, and shot at them several times. The robbers survived the exchange of gunfire.

However, as Mexican law enforcement officials arrived, they not only arrested the three robbers. Police also arrested Sandoval — initially charging him with attempted murder. Residents from Tatlelolco rallied around Sandoval as they expressed outrage at the Mexican authorities. Sandoval spent several days in jail as his attorneys worked to get the charges dismissed.

After several days in jail, authorities eventually ruled that Sandoval had acted in self-defense and granted him release. The case points to an ongoing trend in Mexico’s current judicial system where criminals are rarely prosecuted while average citizens are often trampled by the wheels of justice.

According to the Index on Global Impunity measured by America’s University in Puebla, Mexico ranks fourth in the list of countries with the most impunity. The study revealed the lack of professionalism in the country’s investigative agencies leading to only 17 percent of actual homicide suspects being prosecuted and jailed. In addition, the group also pointed to 93.7 percent of crimes taking place in Mexico not being reported by victims, demonstrating a clear distrust of the law enforcement system in Mexico.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.