Ecuador finds man sought in deaths here guilty of fraud
Luis Guaman, a 41-year-old roofer indicted in the brutal slayings of a Brockton mother and her 2-year-old son, was convicted of passport fraud in Ecuador yesterday, according to prosecutors in the city of Cuenca.
A three-judge panel in the First Criminal Court of Azuay found Guaman guilty of possessing another man’s passport, the same document he allegedly used to flee Massachusetts in February just hours after police found the bludgeoned bodies of his housemate, Maria Avelina Palaguachi, and her son, Brian, in a trash bin behind their house.
Prosecutor María Augusta Merchán, who handled the case in Ecuador yesterday, said that Guaman used an authentic passport in the name of Segundo Castro, a man 14 years younger, to flee the United States. The passport was issued from the Boston consulate, she said, adding that she did not know how Guaman came to possess it.
“He’s in jail,’’ she said of Guaman. “We are waiting for the sentencing.’’
Guaman could face up to six years in jail on the charges, prosecutors said.
Palaguachi’s older sister — Maria Eloisa Palaguachi, who lived down the street from her in Brockton — hailed Guaman’s conviction yesterday.
“I’m glad to hear it,’’ said Palaguachi. “I don’t want him to get out.’’
Palaguachi said her family wants Guaman returned to Massachusetts to face murder charges because, if convicted, he would probably face a stiffer penalty here.
“We’re desperate here,’’ she said. “. . . We want him to come back. He has to face justice for what he did to my sister and my nephew.’’
A week before the conviction, Plymouth District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz called on Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and US Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to press Ecuador to return Guaman to face the murder charges.
Ecuadoran officials have refused, saying their nation’s constitution forbids extradition of its citizens. But officials said they are willing to prosecute Guaman in Ecuador for the deaths.
Yesterday, Ecuadoran prosecutors reiterated their hope that Plymouth prosecutors would send them evidence in the case so that they may file murder charges against Guaman.
Cruz has the support of US Senators Scott Brown and John F. Kerry and US Representative Stephen F. Lynch.
Guaman, who lived in Massachusetts for years, fled to Ecuador hours after the bodies were found. Officials arrested him shortly after his arrival, acting on a tip from his estranged wife.
Maria Sacchetti can be reached at msacchetti@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter at @mariasacchetti. 