Judge denies habeas corpus for those indicted for death involving a jet ski.

Legal Consultant (By Eduardo Velozo Fuccia) - The procedural phase is the appropriate time to analyze the evidence and the possible participation of each agent in the criminal act. With this argument, Judge Rodrigo de Moura Jacob, of the 1st Court of the Bertioga District Forum, denied a preliminary injunction in a Habeas Corpus petition filed by three of the four defendants in the death of 3-year-old Grazielly Almeida Lames, who was run over by a jet ski.

The lawyers who filed the Habeas Corpus petitions requested, as a preliminary measure, the suspension of the indictment and, on the merits, the dismissal of the police investigation in relation to their clients. The preliminary injunction was denied by the judge, who stated that the requests made could only be granted at the police investigation stage if the judge could verify without major difficulties "that there was no crime or that the accused did not participate in the criminal conduct." According to him, "there are, in theory, minimum elements for the indictment."

A jet ski struck Grazielly on Guaratuba Beach on February 18th, Carnival Saturday. A resident of the Campinas region (São Paulo state), the girl was at the water's edge with her mother and it was her first time in the sea. The jet ski was operated by a 13-year-old boy, who will be held accountable for the infraction (the term for crimes committed by minors under 18) before the Juvenile Court. He is the godson of the jet ski's owner.

The Santos regional police chief, Rony da Silva Oliveira, presided over the investigation and indicted businessman José Augusto Cardoso Filho, the teenager's godfather, for manslaughter. The caretaker of this man, identified as the one who refueled the jet ski and took it to the beach for the teenager on his boss's orders, was also indicted, as were Thiago Veloso Lins and Aílton Bispo de Oliveira, respectively the owner and mechanic of a marina where the jet ski underwent servicing three days before the accident.

According to police, the jet ski owner and the caretaker were reckless in allowing a minor, and therefore without a Navy license, to operate the jet ski. The marina owner and the mechanic acted negligently, according to the police chief, because they failed to detect oxidation on the throttle cable and the part known as the throttle butterfly. An expert report confirmed that the throttle butterfly had a "serious defect" that contributed to the accident.

Lawyers Francisco Assis Henrique Neto Rocha and Ricardo Assumpção filed a Habeas Corpus petition on behalf of the jet ski owner. The marina owner and his mechanic were represented by lawyers Armando de Mattos Júnior, Gabriel Dondon Sant'Anna, Roberto Luiz Ferreira de Almeida, and Fausto Simões Júnior. The defense of the pair who serviced the jet ski also argued in the Habeas Corpus petition that "the Brazilian legal system does not admit participation in a negligent crime."

However, the judge considered this issue "one of the most controversial doctrinal questions," which should be analyzed during the process. Finally, he added that the prevailing understanding is that "whoever participates in a negligent crime is liable as the perpetrator," noting that the Public Prosecutor's Office is not bound by the legal interpretation of the police chief. Thus, when filing any charges, the Public Prosecutor's Office may exonerate those indicted and hold accountable those who escaped indictment.