PUERTO RICO — Two men were killed, and a third was found dead after posting videos on social media in which he claimed responsibility for both killings, in a case that authorities said may be connected to a dispute over an investment in a medical marijuana business.
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One of the victims was prominent Puerto Rico attorney Luis Quiñones González, who was shot around 10:45 a.m. as he left a courthouse in Ponce, on the island’s southern coast.
Quiñones González was driving a white Dodge Ram when he was shot multiple times and later crashed into a utility pole. He was taken to Dr. Pila Hospital in his wife’s vehicle.
She had been driving ahead of him at the time of the shooting.
Quiñones González later died at the hospital.
During the attack, Quiñones González’s wife returned fire, shooting the suspected gunman, identified as William Rivera Sánchez.
Shortly afterward, Rivera Sánchez posted two videos on social media in which he claimed responsibility for killing the attorney and linked the shooting to money he said he had invested in a business venture.
“I got tired, I got tired of doing things the right way, and yesterday, I made the decision to do things the wrong way,” Rivera Sánchez said in Spanish in one of the videos.
The attorney, however, was not the only person Rivera Sánchez mentioned in the recordings.
Rivera Sánchez also made statements about Félix Plaud, a former student leader affiliated with Puerto Rico’s New Progressive Party, or PNP. By then, Plaud’s family had reported him missing.
At 1:57 p.m., police said Rivera Sánchez had been located inside his apartment, where he had barricaded himself. He was later found dead.
Authorities said three firearms were recovered at the scene.
Hours after the attorney was killed, at about 2:30 p.m., authorities received another report of a man found shot in the Borinquen neighborhood near a gas station in Guayama.
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Police later identified the man as Plaud.
Authorities said Plaud had met with Rivera Sánchez around 7 p.m. Friday and that his family had not heard from him after that meeting.
At the center of the case was a legal dispute involving a medical marijuana business.
Rivera Sánchez had filed a lawsuit against Quiñones González that also involved Plaud and other business entities.
In the lawsuit, filed in June in San Juan Superior Court, Rivera Sánchez sought $666,000 for alleged breach of contract and damages. He claimed he had invested money in a business venture, but that his ownership stake was not ultimately recognized.
According to the lawsuit, Rivera Sánchez alleged that in mid-2021, he was persuaded to invest in a project to establish a medical marijuana dispensary in Cupey, San Juan.
Rivera Sánchez alleged that he was offered a 24.5% stake in the business in exchange for an initial investment of $125,000.
He also claimed he covered additional expenses related to the project, including $22,000 in rent payments between November 2022 and January 2026, $10,000 for equipment and $4,000 for renovations.
The lawsuit sought $166,000 for the money Rivera Sánchez claimed he was owed, along with $500,000 for alleged emotional distress and mental anguish, bringing the total claim to $666,000.
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