U.S. tourist in Costa Rica kills mugger
By MARIANELA JIMENEZ, Associate Press Writer
38 minutes ago
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica - An American senior citizen killed an alleged mugger with his bare hands, and his traveling companions aboard a tour bus fended off two other assailants in the Atlantic coast city of Limon, police said.
The American, who is about 70 years old and retired from the military, put the 20-year-old in a head lock and broke his clavicle after the suspect and two other men armed with a knife and gun held up their tour bus, said Luis Hernandez, the police chief of Limon, 80 miles east of San Jose. The suspect, Warner Segura, was later declared dead, apparently from asphyxiation.
The two other men fled when the 12 senior citizens started defending themselves during the Wednesday attack. Afterward, the tourists drove Segura to the Red Cross where he was declared dead. The Red Cross also treated one of the tourists for an anxiety attack, Hernandez said Thursday.
The tourists left on their Carnival cruise ship after the incident and Hernandez said authorities do not plan to press charges against them.
"They were in their right to defend themselves after being held up," he said. [...]
The cruise line said the guests were questioned by local law enforcement and then returned to the ship. The ship's departure from Limon was slightly delayed.
"All of the guests involved, who had booked the cruise together as a group, have opted to continue with their vacation plans. Carnival is providing full support and assistance to the guests," according to the statement. [...]
The sad thing is that there are probably some folks who will mourn for the piece of crap who's gotten his just reward and say the old fellow should be prosecuted.
Posted by Terry Oglesby at February 23, 2007 08:38 AM