wfn.org | Drug-Related Death of Puerto Rican Pastor Still Unresolved

[PCUSA.NEWS@pcusa.org]

4-November-1997 
97418 
 
    Drug-Related Death of Puerto Rican Pastor 
    Still Unresolved 
 
    by Alexa Smith 
 
LOUISVILLE, Ky.--Though police say the case is closed, there are still more 
questions than answers in the drug-related death of a young Presbyterian 
minister in Puerto Rico, and the synod there is pushing for further 
investigation into the case. 
 
    The question that looms the largest is whether the Rev. Danny Velez 
Ortiz, 38, of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico, was murdered while ministering to 
drug addicts or whether he -- a recovering drug abuser -- simply relapsed 
and overdosed himself. 
 
    Velez' body was found in a Mayagez alley frequented by drug users last 
August, but according to police reports, there was no evidence of violence 
or force.  There were needle marks on his arms and some abrasions 
indicating that the body had been dragged.  Police say Velez died of an 
overdose of cocaine and heroin, a combination known as a "speedball." 
 
    "We can't accuse anybody of murder," Lt. Hector Augusto, director of 
the homicide branch of  the Mayagez Police Department, told the 
Presbyterian News Service, adding that eyewitnesses said they saw Velez 
shoot up.  "The only thing we've got is the overdose." 
 
    Velez reportedly counseled addicts on the Mayagez streets to get them 
into rehabilitation.  A coastal city that is often full of tourists, 
Mayagez -- in fact, the whole island of Puerto Rico -- is reporting 
escalating drug traffic.  Drug-related arrests are up from last year by 
roughly about 10 per month, Mayagez police estimate. 
 
     Commander Julio Maldonado, assistant director of the Mayagez police, 
said the case is closed and that the investigation concluded Velez died 
from a self-inflicted injection. 
 
    However, that's not the way Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) leaders in 
Puerto Rico see the evidence.  The executive of Southwest Presbytery, the 
Rev. Jos‚ Col˘n Rodriguez, says, "Was it his own hand -- or another person? 
 ... We have doubts about that." 
 
    Police acknowledge it is not unusual for drug dealers to retaliate 
against threats to their industry. And though the typical form of death is 
by shooting, a forced lethal overdose is not uncommon.  Velez reportedly 
left home for a counseling appointment after a Sunday afternoon with his 
family and never came back. 
 
    Legal counsel for the Synod of Puerto Rico, Louis Avecado, is urging 
the prosecuting attorney to reopen the case for further investigation, 
according to the Rev. Harry DelValle, synod executive. Avecado is the 
moderator of the Valle Hermoso Church, where Velez was the pastor. 
 
    "He was clean," said DelValle.  "He was doing his work.  He was not an 
addict.  No one becomes an addict suddenly at 5 p.m. Sunday after playing 
dominos with his family. ... His body was found on the sidewalk. 
 
    "Objectively, if a pastor were using drugs, he'd do it privately. And 
he would have places to do it [undetected]." 
 
 
    DelValle said he questions the accuracy of eyewitness reports in 
neighborhoods where intimidation may influence what people feel they can 
safely say. 
 
    "I support the synod in its efforts to find what's true about this.  We 
love Danny, "said the Rev. Jos‚ MunĄz, pastor of the Vida Nueva 
Presbyterian Church in Chicago, where Velez served while a seminary student 
at McCormick Theological Seminary, who was with Velez the day he died. 
 
    "We hope that others working with people who use drugs will keep doing 
their ministries," he said.  "We don't know how this will affect others who 
do this kind of ministry." He paused. "He [Velez] was a brother and a 
friend." 

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