Military Court judges appeal of those convicted of the deaths of a musician and waste picker in RJ

The Superior Military Court (STM) judges this Thursday (29) the appeal presented by the defense of the soldiers convicted of killing the musician Evaldo dos Santos Rosa and the collector of recyclable materials, Luciano Macedo, in April 2019, in Rio de Janeiro .

Eight Army soldiers were convicted of the case in the first instance of the Union Military Court, in 2021. They remain free until the analysis of the appeal is concluded.

Lieutenant Ítalo da Silva Nunes, who led the action, was sentenced to 31 years and six months in prison, and the other seven soldiers were sentenced to 28 years in prison, all in an initial closed regime, for the crimes of murder and attempted murder .

Another four soldiers who were at the scene on the day of the crime were acquitted, as they would not have shot at the victims. The twelve were acquitted for the crime of failing to provide assistance.

The complaint was presented by the Military Public Ministry.

Resource

In the appeal against the conviction, presented to the STM, the military's defense requests that the sentence be changed so that they are acquitted of all the crimes charged.

The lawyers understand that it must be recognized that the military acted in self-defense, as they came from an alleged situation of confrontation with “drug dealers” and that they “believed” they were suffering a new attack.

“The evidence and statements collected during the evidentiary investigation leave no doubt that, shortly before the episodes narrated in the complaint, during the mission carried out by the appellants in the morning, a true atmosphere of war was established in the region, due to the There was a confrontation with local drug dealers, who began to target military vehicles,” said the defense.

“The appellants’ reaction was exactly as expected: in defense of their lives, their companions, and the private and public property of others, they reacted to the imminent threat — risk of confrontation by the assailants in a place dominated by drug dealers — and fired shots toward the people who believed they were the same people who had previously attacked themselves and others”.

Speaking to CNN, lawyer André Perecmanis, responsible for defending the victims, said that the STM will have an “opportunity” not to leave the case “unanswered”,

“The Superior Military Court will have the opportunity to show Brazilian society that the shooting of two innocent people, leaving a child without a father, a pregnant woman without her partner and families shattered, will not go unanswered,” he stated.

Remember the case

Musician Evaldo dos Santos Rosa was in a car with four other people, including his wife and seven-year-old son, on the way to a baby shower, when they were shot at by Army soldiers, who allegedly mistook his car for that of bandits.

The crime took place on April 7, 2019. According to experts, at least 257 shots were fired, of which 62 hit the vehicle, and eight hit the musician, who ended up dying instantly.

The collector of recyclable materials, Luciano Macedo, who was passing by the scene, was also shot while trying to help the victims. He was rescued, but died days later in the hospital.

*With information from Cleber Rodrigues, Lucas Madureira and Leandro Resende