Town Council Worker Shot in Santa Cruz Cleanup

In Santa Elena, a routine job turned violent when a Town Council worker was shot while clearing bushes in the Santa Cruz area. Twenty-year-old Dominique Robateau was part of a crew clearing an overgrown alley when he was reportedly warned not to be in the area. Later that same morning, a man confronted the workers, and gunfire erupted from behind a zinc fence. Robateau was hit, while another bullet grazed the pants of a co-worker. Mayor Earl Trapp spoke to News Five by phone, explaining that the area is sometimes used to stash drugs and stolen goods, and that residents have been threatened if they try to clean it up. Presently, doctors say it’s unclear if Robateau will be able to walk again after this incident.

 

On The Phone: Earl Trapp, Mayor, San Ignacio/Santa Elena

“My foreman and I went there as well. And one of my employees said to me that when he was coming down walking, I think he was basically done for the day. One guy that lives right beside the alley said to him that he cannot walk in this area. But he said well we are just passing through, we are going home. That’s when the guy continued behind him and shouted a name from behind him, into the zinc fence. And the guy pushed the gate opened and fired three shots at the guys. While they were running away, he pointed the gun, and he fired three shots. Then he ran up on the hill, while the guy was running, the guys were running to the right, he again fired a couple more shots. One of which caught one of my employees and another shot grazed the pants on the buttocks of the other employee. Apparently, the employee that was shot had to go into an emergency surgery, since he was shot on the pelvis. The x-ray indicated that the shot went through but, according to the doctor, it hit an area close to where the nerves pass. We have like a cord of nerves so, he had to deal with it immediately. He’s hoping that everything will work out well, that the guy will be able to walk.”