The former Judicial Police of the Civil Guard, who oversaw the inquiry into the brutal murder of Rubén, a drug dealer slain in Tabaiba in February 2023, stated that the victim endured a “Direct Execution” as they did not “have time nor speak“
According to the aforementioned officer from the Armed Institute, one of the accused, Antonio José, claimed during his identification and questioning that it was the other participant, José Juan, who assaulted Rubén with a goat leg. José Juan was known by the alias of José el de la Punta.
Antonio José informed the authorities that he was present at the scene but did not partake in the lethal assault on the victim.
Initially, Antonio José, a boxing trainer, identified another defendant as John, an acquaintance with whom he often went to collect debts.
The alleged mastermind behind the incident was Tone, the proprietor of a nutrition shop on Sabino Berthelot Street in San Benito (La Laguna). According to investigators, he was involved in drug trafficking and supplied narcotics to the victim, leading to financial disputes between them.
Judgment for Rubén’s murder in Tabaiba. / / The day
The victim sustained severe injuries to the head, which resulted in immediate death.
The former Judicial Police Chief elucidated that on the day of the incident, February 21, 2023, at 5:10 p.m., a white Audi Q2 arrived, driven by the homeowner where the events transpired, Toño Sánchez, with another individual sporting distinctive tattoos seated alongside him (Antonio José).
Toño exited the building and returned with another male, who took further measures to conceal his identity by wearing sunglasses, a hoodie, and a mask.
Shortly thereafter, Toño brought a goat leg into the floor where the murder took place, with the other two alleged perpetrators already inside.
At 6:00 p.m., Toño exited again and, shortly after, entered the passenger seat of a black BMW X3 owned by Rubén. The victim approached Toño’s residence in a completely calm and assured manner, as mentioned by the former Judicial Police Chief.
Several minutes after Rubén arrived at the dwelling where he was subsequently beaten to death, the trio (Toño, Antonio José, and José Juan) exited through a rear door leading to the beach, as per the report from the Civil Guard officer who oversaw the investigation.
During the site inspection, the Armed Institute’s Criminal Laboratory confiscated three or four mobile phones. Several were linked to Toño, one was associated with a false identity, and another belonged to Antonio José’s father. The phone linked to a false identity is typical among those engaged in drug trafficking.
A couple of residents in the building identified Antonio José as one of the individuals seen near Toño’s home post-murder, without doubt, due to his vitiligo marks (skin spots), tattoos, and physical appearance.
Toño took his own life the night following the murder in his nutrition establishment. In his farewell letter, as reported by the investigation lead, he sought to absolve Antonio José and José Juan. In that note, a sister of one of the accused advised him to keep a van, as its owner “is going to prison.”
Antonio José was apprehended five days after the incident in a neighbourhood of AGache, in Güímar. Upon reviewing security footage, investigators noted a distinct tattoo on one hand as he handled a garage door where the crime occurred, with a star tattoo visible on his elbow.
When questioned, Antonio José’s girlfriend stated that he was at the location to collect a debt for Toño, according to the investigation coordinator.
To identify the second accused (José Juan), agents observed that when disembarking from Toño’s Audi Q2, he closed the door with the palm of one hand. Consequently, the Criminalistics Laboratory scanned the fingerprints, which matched precisely with those of José Juan, who already had multiple police and criminal records for various violent offences.
This record includes robbery with violence (exhibiting significant aggression), injuries, threats, and even warnings to the national police. Civil Guard researchers describe him as “a violent individual capable of committing acts akin to those currently being tried.”
During Rubén’s wake, a friend alerted Civil Guard investigators that, according to an unnamed source, one of the perpetrators was José de la Punta; specifically, José Juan.
Moreover, there is additional evidence placing José Juan at the scene. At Tabaiba beach, a pharmacy’s camera recorded a male dressed identically to the second individual who entered the garage with Toño arriving in a grey Peugeot 106, featuring a black roof, tinted rear windows, and distinctive tyres. This vehicle had been purchased the previous month but had not yet undergone transfer.
The Peugeot’s boot revealed an object, which was transferred into Toño’s Audi Q2, which had just arrived seconds prior, with the male then entering that vehicle. One theory posited by the Civil Guards is that this object was the goat leg wielded against Rubén.
Investigators affixed a GPS tracker to the Peugeot 106 owned by José Juan to monitor its usage and ascertain if he indeed drove that vehicle. They confirmed that the now-accused used the car that approached the vicinity of the Tabaiba pharmacy.
