Report Crime in Costa Rica But Don’t Cry Wolf!

I recently received a call from a very nice young lady that was in a panic. She started with: “Are you the private investigator? Please I need help quick! My clients’ house was broken into and he was assaulted.”

“Yes! Relax!” I told her… “We will help, everything will be OK, but first is your client OK? Does he need to go to the hospital?”

The nice agents’ response while crying was, we have a nurse with him, he is scared, we called the police they will not come out. Please I beg you, will you help him? I agreed to see her with her friend that spoke better English so they could show me where the house was at and explain that we don’t work for free!

She informed me that this was the third house she had sold to him because he had been assaulted and broken into in the past. That told me quick that something was not right here but I always try to give people the benefit of the doubt (it is called an investigation and not an assumption.)

When we arrived at the property it had the visual effect of good security that many North Americans fall for. As I walked in I noticed the door was completely out of the door jam (and 3-4 big flags). I walked to the back of the million dollar condo. There was a tree lined hill next to 5′ wall that Stevie Wonder could get over.

I entered the home to see the client, as I walked through the home to the upstairs I noticed many problems with the story I had been told to that point. The first person I met was a local banker who I knew was a jerk from the past.

I met the client who was bruised and was combative (another red flag because at this point it had been over 14 hours after the assault) he told me he was a retired professor from an Ivy league University in the US.

I explained our fees, he said yes and offered to pay me cash with $100 dollar bills on the spot but I did not think it would be correct to take money from him until he had settled down.

I told his banker and the agent that the man could pay us later but we needed to get the police and my team on site quick! I called my attorney and told her to call the police and O.I.J. to get them on site now!

I called my team, a fingerprint expert, a medic, a driver and bodyguard for the client, an undercover agent and told him to get ready to hit all the pawn shops. I then put my gloves on, got out my camera and went down stairs to start work.

About one hour into the case there were way too many red flags and I knew that the client had not been telling the truth about the “break-in and assault.’ Even though the client had said “the door was kicked or pushed in” there was no damage to the frame of the door and every screw in the hinges were still in tact.

Then he said “this was a robbery” and even though there was at least $30,000 worth of damage, none of it had anything to do with a robbery! Looked to me like someone was very upset with him they were teaching him a lesson!

Now I knew we had a different issue to deal with and I was not going to fix or change a crime scene to help anyone! I then asked to talk to the banker and the agent. As smooth as I could, I informed them of the many problems I had found and I would not lie to the police in order to help their client. I informed them that if this was in fact a “robbery and an assault” we would help their client but, only if the client would tell the truth!

Both of them went upstairs, when they came back down – with the look of a deer caught in the head lights – they informed me they did not want an investigation and to please forget what I had seen.

I recalled everyone and stopped everything. I later asked my attorney to call the agent and tell her that if there was a police report filed there could be big problems for anyone involved with filing a false report.

The reason I offer this story is because Costa Rica is a good country with many wonderful people and a police force that makes a serious effort to do a good job with limited resources.

If you do have a serious problem? By all means call the police, that’s what they are for but, if you and your lover have a fight and he tears up the house, do not claim that you know nothing and say to the police that it was a “robbery and an assault” because you could get yourself into serious trouble.

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Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.