The 4 new witnesses and the “reevaluation” of the evidence that motivated the release of L-Gante

2023-09-09 20:25:19

The judge who on Friday night granted the freedom to Elián Ángel Valenzuela, better known as L-Gante, who remained in prison for almost 100 days, took into account the testimony of four new eyewitnesses of the alleged illegitimate deprivation of liberty that The musician starred last May in the Buenos Aires town of General Rodríguez.

The testimonies motivated a “re-evaluation” of the evidence that existed in the file and benefited the defendant with the release, for the “benefit of the doubt.”

The 4 new witnesses and the “reevaluation” of the evidence that motivated the release of L-Gante

“The eyewitnesses of the incidents that gave rise to the events blamed on Valenzuela give an account of the state of alcoholism and exaltation in which the complainant would have found himself and his manifest enmity against the defendant Valenzuela and his friends,” he says among his conclusions. the Guarantee Judge Gabriel Castro.

For the prosecutor who investigated the case, Raúl Villalba, of the Functional Instruction Unit (UFI) 9 of the Judicial Department of Moreno-General Rodríguez, L-Gante (23) is accused of four acts: simple threats in real competition with deprivation illegitimate freedom in ideal competition with coercive threats to the detriment of Darío Gastón Torres; the illegitimate deprivation of simple liberty in ideal competition with simple threats from Rosa Catalina Passi; simple possession of narcotics and concealment aggravated by the intention of profit for having in his possession an iPhone 12 Pro reported stolen.

However, for the magistrate, the statements of the new witnesses made at the end of last month led to a “reassessment” of the evidence and he ordered the immediate release of L-Gante.

L-Ghent, free

After the judge’s decision, the benchmark for cumbia 420 left around 11:00 p.m. accompanied by a group of friends the headquarters of the Departmental Investigation Delegation (DDI) Quilmes, where he had been staying since June 6.

Wearing a white cap, a fluorescent green jacket and a goatee, the musician explained that he took advantage of the stopped time to “reconsider”, take better care of himself, harden himself “mentally”, “think in a good way” and put “everything” into the lo What he likes the most: “cumbia 420 for black people.”

Judge Castro understood that the principle of “in dubio pro reo” had to be guaranteed (which establishes that in case there are doubts the accused must benefit) and “the general rule that the accused goes through the process in freedom during its substantiation.” , and until there is a conviction against him; especially, when the doubts raised make, in my opinion, that the current preventive confinement becomes unfair and unreasonable.”

In his conclusions, in addition to the statement of these new witnesses, the magistrate evaluated a new statement by the victim Passi, who -for the judge- incurred “multiple contradictions” with respect to his previous testimony.

“In the first one he stated: ‘He made me get into the truck’ and in his last statement he made it known that after spending five minutes at the door of his house he got into the truck because he was cold,” Castro explained in his resolution.

Another of the important points considered by the judge was the testimony of Mayra Gimena Flores, ex-partner of the complainant’s son Torres, who assured that the victim got into L-Gante’s truck by his own means and without being threatened by the musician from cumbia

“All of this then leads to the need that it be within the framework of the oral trial to be carried out, where the evidence is actually produced, and all the parties involved in the process, can effectively exercise their rights regarding the accumulation of investigative acts that they make up the instruction stage,” Castro indicated in the resolution to which Télam had access.

Why was L-Ghent arrested?

The complaint that led to the singer’s arrest was made on May 27 by Darío Gastón Torres, a neighbor of the Valenzuela family, who lives in the Bicentenario neighborhood of General Rodríguez, in the western suburbs.

On the morning of that day, when leaving the “Río” dance venue located in that town, there was an incident with several young members of the so-called “La Mafilia”, the group of friends and musicians to which L-Gante belongs.

According to what Torres denounced, when he left the club to go home, he began to receive threats from Valenzuela and after that, members of La Mafilia went to his house and physically assaulted both him and his family.

Then, always according to his complaint, a white BMW driven by Valenzuela passed by, lowered the window, pointed a gun at him and forced him into the car. A few meters later, she was also intercepted and forced to get on the same vehicle by the young Rosa Catalina Passi, also a neighbor of the musician and who had participated in the first argument with the friends of L-Gante.

Then and always according to the complaint, some members of “La Mafilia” were delayed by the Police and L-Gante returned to where the cell phone was, lowered the window and told the agents: “Get out of the kids or I’ll kill this one.” ”, in reference to the victim who was held inside his BMW.

Torres allegedly remained captive for 23 minutes until L-Gante received a call assuring him that his friends had been released by the Police and released the victims.

With the evidence gathered, the prosecution requested Valenzuela’s arrest from Judge Castro, who validated the request and ordered four raids on June 6, one of them in sector 1 of the country club of the Banco Provincia Club, where the musician was finally detained.