Julio César Llorente López, a Cuban resident in the Dominican Republic, was sentenced to one month in prison for assaulting an agent from the General Directorate of Traffic and Land Transport (Digesett) in the Piantini sector of Santo Domingo.
The aggression occurred in August 2023, after the officer fined him for using his cell phone while driving. Witnesses of the incident recorded a video showing the Cuban slapping the traffic police officer.
The agent reacted by stepping back, but Llorente López maintained a defiant attitude. These images went viral on social media and sparked harsh criticism towards the Cuban community in the Dominican Republic. Locals demanded that immigrants from the island show more respect towards the authorities and exhibit greater civility.
Diario Libre reported that the sentence was issued this week by Judge Diana P. Moreno Rodríguez of the Eighth Chamber of the Criminal Court of the National District. The prison sentence was served while the Cuban was under coercive measures.
In addition to the prison sentence, Llorente López, who is from Cienfuegos, must pay a compensation of RD$75,000 to agent José Anthony Alcántara Rojas, who is 23 years old.
José Martínez Hoepelman, the defense lawyer for the Cuban, explained that his client accepted responsibility for the act and accepted the imposed criminal sanction.
The incident occurred when Agent Alcántara Rojas fined Llorente López for violating Article 221 of Law 63-17 on Traffic, which prohibits the use of mobile devices while driving. The Cuban reacted violently, hitting the agent in the face and grabbing the documents from him.
During the trial, the Public Prosecutor's Office had requested a sentence of two years in prison and a fine of RD$5,000, but a deal was reached that reduced the sentence. Agent Alcántara Rojas accepted the compensation and the agreement was approved by the court.
The sentence also mentions that Llorente López was arrested a day after the incident and released on September 14, 2023, following an appeal that argued how his detention did not comply with the proper legal procedures.
This resolution brings to a close a case that has captured public attention for a year and highlights the importance of respecting traffic authorities and established laws to ensure safety on roads in all countries around the world.
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