Police vehicles are seen outside this house in San Jose on Friday afternoon.
The San Jose home is behind a church.
DEPARTMENT of Public Safety Commissioner Anthony Macaranas on Friday, Aug. 2, said 71-year-old Pedro Pangelinan Cabrera, a former inmate, was the deceased individual found south of the Garapan Fishing Base dock on Thursday, Aug. 1.
Macaranas said DPS has officially instigated a homicide investigation, and two persons of interest are in DPS custody.
He said the crime scene is in San Jose, behind a church, and that Cabrera’s body was dumped at the fishing base. The body was discovered late Thursday afternoon by a resident who phoned 911, saying that a man was “unusually” lying on the rocks at the Garapan Fishing Base. Police arrived at the scene at around 5:07 p.m.
Macaranas said Cabrera was found with “severe trauma to the face,” and his injuries were consistent with blunt force trauma. He clarified that the body was not found decomposing as previously reported.
He said tattoos led to Cabrera’s positive identification. At around 11 p.m. Thursday evening, Macaranas said police were able to discover what they believed was the crime scene in San Jose. There, they found two persons of interest, Macaranas said, adding that he could not provide more details about the two persons of interest as the investigation was ongoing.
But he said the two gave “inconsistent” statements to the police and were taken into police custody. There was no official search warrant for the crime scene as of 1 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2, and no official charges had been brought against the persons of interest.
Department of Public Safety Commissioner Anthony Macaranas conducts a press conference on Friday, Aug. 2, to discuss an ongoing homicide investigation.
Macaranas said by Monday he could potentially have more details regarding the persons of interest and the crime scene.
“We’re working to piece all the evidence together from witnesses to surveillance footage and others that will lead us to corroborate this case,” Macaranas said.
He asks anyone who was in the Garapan Fishing Base area between 12:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. Thursday to provide information about any unusual activity on the day Cabrera’s body was found.
The DPS-Criminal Investigation Bureau can be reached at (670) 664-9042. If you wish to remain anonymous, call the Crime Stoppers hotline at (670) 234-7272.
According to news files, Pedro Pangelinan Cabrera was convicted for the second-degree murder of a police officer in 1984; in 2000, while on parole, he was charged with kidnapping, rape of a minor and assault with a dangerous weapon.
This is a developing story.
