The 4th Criminal Court of the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice denied the defense’s appeal and maintained the preventive detention of retired Military Police sergeant Ronnie Lessa and former military police officer Élcio Queiroz, accused of the death of the councilwoman. Marielle Franco and the driver Anderson Gomes, on March 14, 2018, in the Estácio neighborhood, in the central region of the city.
In the car was also one of Marielle’s advisors, who left unharmed, without being injured by any shots. The councilor was hit by four shots in the head and the driver by three. The weapon used in the crime was a German-made HK MP5 submachine gun.
Judge Gustavo Gomes Kalil accepted the request of the state Public Prosecutor’s Office, which spoke out against the request of the defense lawyers of Ronnie Lessa and Élcio Queiroz, who alleged that they had taken too long to schedule the trial. However, the judge understood that the delay was due to “the successive appeals against the indictment”.
On November 20 last year, the magistrate had already denied a request by the defense of the defendants under the same argument, stating that the successive defense appeals were the cause of the delay in concluding the process.