Those accused of murdering judge remain in jail in Rio.
The Rio de Janeiro court decided to keep Lieutenant Colonel Claudio Luiz Silva de Oliveira and Lieutenant Daniel Santos Benitez Lopez in custody, accused of participating in the assassination of Judge Patrícia Acioli.
Fernando Porfírio_247 - The Rio de Janeiro court decided on Thursday (3) to keep Lieutenant Colonel Claudio Luiz Silva de Oliveira, former commander of the 7th BPM (São Gonçalo), and Lieutenant Daniel Santos Benitez Lopez in custody at Bangu 1. Along with nine other police officers, they are accused of participating in the murder of Judge Patrícia Acioli, who was shot 21 times on August 11, at the door of her house in Piratininga, Niterói.
The decision was made by Judge Peterson Barroso Simão, of the 3rd Criminal Court of Niterói, who denied a request from the Public Prosecutor's Office. The Prosecutor's Office requested the transfer of the PM officers to a federal prison outside the state, to be held under a Special Disciplinary Regime, with restricted communication and isolation.
The prosecution argued that the change of location was necessary so that the police officers, even while imprisoned, would not attempt to obstruct the investigations. The judge, however, sided with the defense, stating that the defendants need to remain in a prison within the state, where supervision can be carried out with all legal precautions.
"The presence of the defendants in the State of Rio de Janeiro facilitates the work to be carried out during the criminal proceedings. And, the transfer to another unit within the same State is, at this time, inappropriate and unnecessary," the judge wrote.
In the same decision, the judge scheduled the testimonies of approximately 150 prosecution and defense witnesses, as well as the interrogation of the 11 defendants, for the 9th, 10th, 11th, 16th, 17th, and 18th. The hearings will be held in the plenary hall of the Jury Court, always starting at 9 am. Security at the Niterói Forum will be reinforced.
In addition to the former commander and the lieutenant, the following military police officers were also indicted: Sérgio Costa Júnior, Jovanis Falcão Junior, Jeferson de Araújo Miranda, Charles Azevedo Tavares, Alex Ribeiro Pereira, Júnior Cezar de Medeiros, Carlos Adílio Maciel Santos, Sammy dos Santos Quintanilha, and Handerson Lents Henriques da Silva.