MEXICO CITY (AP) — Police have made a third arrest in last year’s beating death of Malcolm X’s grandson following a dispute over a bar bill, authorities announced Thursday.
Mexico City prosecutors said in a statement that suspect Juan Dircio Guzman was detained in the sprawling city of Nezahualcoyotl, on the edge of the capital. He was expected to appear before a judge to face charges of homicide and robbery.
Malcolm Shabazz, the 28-year-old grandson of the assassinated American political activist, was attacked in the early hours of May 9, 2013, while out drinking with a friend at the Palace bar on Mexico City’s Garibaldi Plaza.
Prosecutors said Shabazz was beaten and robbed by bar staff for refusing to pay a $1,200 tab. He died at a hospital hours later of blunt-force trauma to the head, face and torso.
The Garibaldi neighborhood is famous for the mariachi musicians who stroll the plaza serenading revelers. It also has a rough reputation, and some dive bars in the area are known to grossly overcharge customers, targeting foreigners especially, and demand they pay for spending time with women employees.
Shabazz’s friend, labor activist Miguel Suarez, told The Associated Press last year that the pair had been lured to the bar by a young woman who spoke to them in English. He said they were later presented with the exorbitant bill that included not only drinks but also music and female companionship.
Two waiters were arrested soon after Shabazz’s death.
Prosecutors identified Dircio Guzman on Thursday as the bar’s head waiter and said he is also suspected of taking part in the assault.
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