Thief who died in traffic accident while fleeing an assault he had just committed

A suspected thief was killed in a traffic accident when, according to national media, he tried to escape after committing a theft, in the Villa Campestre neighborhood of Barranquilla. The incident happened last Saturday, in the municipality of Puerto Colombia, in the department of Atlántico. The traffic accident was recorded in the Carrera 26 with Calle 4, when the fatal victim was traveling on a motorcycle. The man, apparently, was being pursued by the victims of the theft.

On a motorbike CTU-19F plates, the accused criminal arrived in the neighborhood of Villa Campestre where, according to the community, he committed the aforementioned theft. According to the information revealed, the subject entered a commercial premises at around 11:00 p.m. He threatened those present with a gun and took their cell phones.

After recovering the loot, the criminal got on the motorcycle and fled. The community pursued him to capture him and, at that point, the fugitive lost control of the motorcycle and fell to the ground. The man, accused of being a thief, received a severe blow to the upper part of the body. Some witnesses claim that the criminal was pointing the gun at the people who were chasing him, which is why he couldn’t see he was heading straight for a platform. The motorcyclist collided and broke his neck, causing his immediate death on the road.

The authorities, for their part, claimed that: “he had just stolen several cell phones and the community persecuted him; on the run, the motorcyclist lost his balance and fell to the ground on a platform where, apparently, he stripped naked and died instantly“Quoted from the media H724.

At first, authorities said the deceased thief responded to the name Andrés Felipe Cobaleda Giraldo, a 36-year-old man, according to what was read in the identification documents left on the ground after the accident. However, according to the information portal ‘Zona Cero’, this identity does not correspond to that of the perpetrator but to that of a victim. The documents belonged to a person allegedly assaulted by the criminal.

Cobaleda Giraldo, contrary to popular belief, is a hard worker employed by a gas pump. He, according to the aforementioned media, had quit his day job and returned home around 10:30 p.m. As he was walking down Calle 85 between races 71 and 72, the thief approached him and threatened him with a gun. He told him to hand over the suitcase with all his things because, if he didn’t, he would shoot him dead. The victim had no choice but to give in.

An hour later, the thief went to Villa Campestre where he committed the other theft, still with the documents and the cell phone of firefighter Cobaleda Giraldo in his possession. According to Ground Zero, it was the agents of the Technical Investigative Body of the Public Prosecutor’s Office who approached Cobaleda Giraldo on Saturday to corroborate his identity and managed to establish that the documents did not relate to the injured motorcyclist.

Insecurity continues to affect the country’s main cities. In recent weeks, there have been several massive thefts from buses in the municipalities of Soledad, Malambo, Galapa and Puerto Colombia, which led the mayors to put in place urgent measures to reduce the situation.

Thefts of people in the Atlantic capital, according to the newspaper El Tiempo, have seen an increase. From January to September, 5,877 cases were recorded, while during the same period of 2020, 5,517 were recorded. Regarding cell phone theft, the figures could increase with 2,883 cases reported so far this year, compared to 3,166 in 2020.

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