A fugitive with a lengthy criminal record, identified as Joel de Jesús Rojas, who went by the street alias “El Flaco”, lost his life on Saturday night following a violent run-in with agents from the Central Directorate of Investigation (Dicrim) in the Mejía neighborhood of Navarrete municipality, located in the Dominican Republic’s Santiago province. The operation targeting Rojas unfolded on Brisa del Canal street, where law enforcement teams had deployed to execute an active arrest warrant for the wanted offender, per official statements released by the National Police. Preliminary accounts from the law enforcement agency confirm that Rojas initiated a confrontation against the on-site patrol, prompting officers to take defensive action to repel his assault. Suffering critical gunshot wounds during the exchange, Rojas was rushed to a nearby local health facility, but succumbed to his injuries mid-treatment. Law enforcement units recovered a revolver at the scene of the clash, which officials assert Rojas had brandished and used against the responding agents. Prior to his death, Rojas was documented to have seven separate active police records, six formal complaints filed with the Public Ministry, and four court-mandated travel restriction orders, alongside the outstanding arrest warrant numbered 2026-AJ0069002 that had been issued on August 12, 2026. The long list of offenses linked to the suspect included multiple counts of armed robbery, petty theft targeting pedestrians, and forced break-ins targeting both small commercial businesses and formal financial institutions. The criminal cases tied to Rojas span three jurisdictions: Navarrete and Villa González municipalities in Santiago province, as well as the municipality of Cotuí in Sánchez Ramírez province. Following the incident, Rojas’ remains were transferred to the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (Inacif) to complete mandatory post-mortem and legal verification procedures required for official case closure.
“El Flaco”: Dies after alleged confrontation with DICRIM agents in Navarrete
