Public Ministry files charges against Wander Franco for illegal possession of a firearm in San Juan

SANTO DOMINGO, RD. – The Public Ministry filed the formal accusation against Wander Samuel Franco Aybar before the Instruction Court of San Juan de la Maguana for the illegal carrying of a firearm, an event that occurred in November of last year.

The instance was presented by prosecutors Adolfo Augusto Pérez Féliz, head of the jurisdiction, and Francis Amaury Bidó Matos, who requested the opening to trial considering that there is sufficient evidence that compromises the criminal responsibility of the accused.

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Franco Aybar was arrested in the act on November 10, 2024, while traveling on Doctor Cabral street in the Sara de los Ángeles residential area, in San Juan, aboard a black Mercedes Benz vehicle, license plate G584255. During a police intervention, a firearm of the brand Glock, model 19 GHT121, with a magazine and 15 cartridges, without legal documentation, was seized from him.

The weapon, according to the official record, belongs to Branly Fernando Lugo Rodríguez, who, according to statements by the accused himself, is his uncle.

The arrest occurred after a discussion and struggle between Franco and José Yasel Cohen Sánchez, in the presence of a woman with whom the accused was sharing. The altercation was intervened by National Police officers, including second lieutenant José Rafael Cohen Beras (father of Cohen Sánchez), first lieutenant Kelvin Raúl Tejeda Ramírez and sergeant Lagarez Quezada. A medical evaluation determined that none of those involved presented recent injuries. Subsequently, both signed a notarial waiver on November 11. However, the Public Prosecutor's Office decided to maintain the accusation for violation of article 67 of Law 631-16 on Weapons, Munitions and Related Materials, as the perpetrator of the act.

In parallel, Franco Aybar faces a judicial process in Puerto Plata, where he is being tried for child sexual abuse, along with a woman accused of sexual exploitation of her minor daughter.

The Public Prosecutor's Office requested the court to set a preliminary hearing to consider the request to open the trial and maintain the current coercive measure, consisting of periodic reporting, as the conditions that motivated its imposition have not changed.