Suspect in unsolved mystery murder of two officers indicted
Palestinian man indicted for involvement in 2009 murder of two cops who were shot to death in their vehicles after pulling over to help what they believed to be a group stranded travellers with a flat tire; investigators still trying to ascertain whether the incident was terror-related or a botched robbery.
A suspect has been indicted on murder charges in the deaths of two police officers who died in an unsolved ambush in the Jordan Valley in 2009, it was released for publication on Sunday morning.
The suspect, Mohammed Radwan Dararma, was also indicted for several other criminal offences.
On March 15, 2009, Senior Warrant Officer Yehezkel Ramazreger and Chief Warrant Officer David Rabinovitch drove on Route 90 near the settlement of Masua in the Jordan Valley when they came across several Palestinians who were stuck due to a flat tire.
After pulling up to help, it turned out that the flat tire had been a trap when the Palestinians approached the window and opened fire on them at close range, killing the two officers on the spot.
Dararma, a resident of the Jordan Valley, was allegedly involved in the shooting and was apprehended in April. Even after his capture, interrogation and indictment however, it is still not clear whether the shooting was a terrorist attack or a criminally-related murder. According to the indictment, the police suspect that the murders were actually an attempted robbery gone wrong.
Moreover, the indictment states that Dararma committed a series of similar robberies in 2009 in which he would use a rented car with his co-bandits and would drive to the location where they intended to carry out their plan. As in this case, the crew would often pretend to have a flat tire before robbing their victims who had come to offer help.
Another member of the group, who was not the defendant, is believed to have hidden a pistol on his body and signaled a car passing by to stop, possibly unaware that it was a police car. While talking to the police, he suddenly pulled out the gun and shot both in their heads.
The defendant and his partners then fled hastily with their rented vehicle, without even first disconnecting the jack attached to their wheel, which broke off during their escape.
While escaping, the indictment states, the man responsible for firing the shots told the defendant and the other member that he had opened fire because the officers noticed the gun he was carrying.
Police say that following Dararma's arrest, progress has been made in efforts to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the murders, and that others may soon be arrested for possible involvement.
According to a joint statement by the police and Shin Bet, it became apparent only later in the investigation after Dararma was arrested that he may have played a part in the shooting. The statement also added that at the time of his arrest, he was in the possession of a Carlo submachine gun and bullets.
Findings of the investigation so far reveal that a squad of three, including Dararma, arrived at the scene of the murder, and during the incident the two policemen were shot dead by one of Dararma's associates.
While the prosecution claims that Dararma admitted to his involvement in the murders, his lawyers claim that Dararma made no such confession and are denying any involvement on their client's part in the incident.
Nuriel, brother of Yehezkel Ramazreger, said that "there is a feeling of closure, but it will not bring my brother back. We were told a few days ago that they found this abominable murderer. We hope he rots in jail. We also intend to make efforts to ensure that he will not be released in future prisoner exchanges."
On the eve of the murder in 2009, large IDF and police forces were called to the scene. Preliminary assessments by the arriving forces determined that the officers had died as a result of a fatal vehicular accident since the officers were shot before they exited their vehicle. In addition, the vehicle was found in a small ditch.
A jack which apparently served the killers in the ambush was found at the scene of the murder. Sources in the defense establishment believe that the attack was the culmination of careful planning, but other suspects were only identified after Dararma's arrest.
