Costa Rica News – The only thing that the parents of Justin David Johnston want is for this entire process to be over after the death of their 16 year old son. They have now lost that chance to have closure yet again.
A hotel security guard who shot a Kansas teen vacationing in Costa Rica two years ago has been acquitted of homicide charges in his second trial that just ended in the inefficient court system in Costa Rica.
Jorge Guevara fired on Justin David Johnston as the 16-year-old from McLouth tried to get into a northern Costa Rica hotel from a neighboring property early on the morning of June 2, 2011.
Guevara said he fired a warning shot when he saw someone he thought was a burglar. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison but was granted a new trial on appeal and was acquitted this week.
Judges said he was legitimately confused by Johnston’s attempt to enter from a nearby property instead of the hotel’s main entrance.
Wendi Johnston said the family, including Justin’s four younger siblings, attended the appeal trial in Costa Rica, and that she and Justin’s father both testified. The family returned to Kansas on Friday.
“We have many, many questions on how they could rule this way,” she said.
Johnston said she is anxious to read a written version of the ruling from the three-judge tribunal when it is released in a few days. She wants to know how they reached their conclusion that Justin could have been mistaken for a burglar when he was wearing a backpack with the name of his tour group on it.
Ok so let me get this straight.
A 16 year old teen was probably out late and just trying to get back to the hotel i which he was staying. The security guard thought he was a burglar and fired a warning shot. That warning shot scared the crap out of the teen and he started running and he was then shot in the back and killed.
What would you do as a teenager or even as an adult, if someone shot a gun in the air and started yelling in Spanish in a foreign country……..I would run too.
I would like to know how much training this security guard had with his weapon. It is a well know fact that many security guards in Costa Rica have had little to no training for their position or with their weapon. Did this guard have training?
The decision is going be appealed by Costa Rican prosecutors.
So 2 years after the death of their son the parents of Justin David Johnston are going to have to continue to relive this nightmare until it is sorted in the Costa Rican legal system.
Here is the website for his remembrance.
