No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeTopicsCrimePolice arrest four suspects in assault on Costa Rican journalist

Police arrest four suspects in assault on Costa Rican journalist

Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ) agents on Friday morning arrested four people suspected of attacking Telenoticias Channel 7 journalist Álvaro Sánchez last July.

Police arrested a 29-year-old woman and three men ages 24, 28 and 32, all members of the same family. They could face criminal prosecution on charges of aggravated robbery and causing serious injury, OIJ reported.

The attack took place on July 20 in Torremolinos, a shantytown in the southern San José canton of Desamparados.

Sánchez, 36, was reporting on a man who allegedly was trying to commit suicide. When he and fellow reporters arrived at the scene, they found the man on the street wielding a gun. At some point, members of the man’s family started hurling insults at Sánchez and then attacked him, his cameraman and an assistant.

Telenoticias reporter Álvaro Sánchez.
(Via Facebook)

The four suspects knocked Sánchez to the ground and started hitting and kicking him. They also tried to take his cellphone, Sánchez later told police.

He managed to escape when two OIJ agents drove by and opened the back door so he could jump in, Sánchez told daily La Nación following the incident.

Sánchez ruptured his Achilles tendon in the attack and had to undergo surgery. He then spent nearly a month and a half immobilized, and currently is still unable to resume his work for Channel 7.

“It’s been a hard journey. I’m still incapacitated as I still need a lot of therapy and exercises for strengthening my foot,” Sánchez told The Tico Times on Friday.

The suspects remain in custody at the public prosecutors’ office in Desamparados.

Sánchez has also reported for The Tico Times. Read his interview with “Popeye,” one of the late drug kingpin Pablo Escobar’s top assassins, here.

Trending Now

Costa Rica Celebrates 201st Annexation Anniversary With New Nicoya Park

Nearly 200 people joined the Municipality of Nicoya this Sunday to inaugurate a new park at the Annexation Monument, an initiative that blends recreation,...

Venezuela Accuses El Salvador of Torturing Deported Migrants From U.S.

Sexual abuse, daily beatings, rotten food: The government of Nicolás Maduro on Monday denounced “torture” against Venezuelan migrants sent by the United States to...

Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly Vacation in Costa Rica with Baby

Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly touched down in Costa Rica for a family getaway with their three-month-old daughter, Saga Blade Fox-Baker. Photographers caught...

Costa Rica’s Poás Volcano Park Reopening to Tourists With Safety Measures

The Poás Volcano National Park will reopen its doors to tourism starting July 30, after  scientific entities reported a decrease in volcanic activity. This was...

Costa Rica Fails to Meet Human Rights Standards for Deportees

The Ombudsman's Office has confirmed that Costa Rica was unprepared to provide adequate care for deportees who have entered the country since February. This...

Remittances to Central America Surge 20% Amid U.S. Deportation Fears

Family remittances in Central America grew by around 20% in the first half of 2025, according to official data—a rise that experts attribute to...
L. Arias
L. Arias
Reporter | The Tico Times |
spot_img
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica