Man found with $3 million was car mechanic, lived with his mother

Some of the cash that was discovered in the home. (Photo courtesy of the OIJ)

October 31^st, 2014 (InsideCostaRica.com)  A man who was shot in his San Joaquin de Flores home Tuesday night in an attempted robbery and who is now suspected of money laundering and drug-related offenses after officers discovered more than $3 million USD in cash in the home lives with his mother and is a car mechanic, according to the Judicial Investigative Police (OIJ).

The man, who remains hospitalized, also has no criminal record.  His mother was not home at the time of the attempted robbery.

According to the initial investigation, the 44-year-old man, identified by the last name Jimenez, was shot after refusing to tell two armed robbers where the cash was hidden.

Hours after the shooting, officers obtained a court-ordered search warrant to search the house based on the discovery of $76,000 in cash that was found by responding officers under a table.

Officers conducting the search noticed that the floor in two rooms of the home appeared to be raised.  After digging up the floor, officers discovered more than $3 million in cash in vacuum-sealed bags.

Officers also discovered one kilo of cocaine behind a false wall in a restroom.

Jimenez will face charges of money laundering when released from the hospital, which could result in eight to twenty years in prison.