This Tuesday afternoon the Oral Criminal Court in La Serena handed down the sentence in the so-called ‘Romario Case’. Let’s remember that after receiving the expert, audiovisual and testimonial evidence of the Prosecutor’s Office, the defendants were found guilty of the death of Romario Veloz and the serious injury of two other victims, events that occurred on October 20, 2019, in context. in Outburst.Social.
Captain José Faúndez had to serve a sentence of 15 years for three crimes, while soldier Carlos Robledo received a sentence of 10 years in prison for unnecessary violence resulting in death; Meanwhile, Milován Rojas and José Arenas were sentenced to 5 years each for unnecessary violence resulting in serious injuries.
After the evidence presented, it was confirmed that the events took place on October 20, 2019 in the context of the state constitutional exception in the region, on the occasion of several attacks against public and private property.
According to the indictment, the captain of the army “materialized the presence of a contingent in the Mall Plaza La Serena, among other places, with the objective of public order and to repair or prevent damage or danger to the security of the sector.”
At 6:00 p.m. that day, in the aforementioned sector and in the circumstances where a demonstration took place, some shops began to be looted by third parties, and the accused ordered the formation and advance of the contingent of military.
“The people who tried to commit the robbery stopped their actions, however, the captain ordered the actions to continue and later shooters joined the group. After that, he ordered the subordinate soldiers to open “fire” with SIG and Galil rifles, against civilians, knowing the results,” it detailed.
After learning of the conviction, the Regional Prosecutor, Adrián Vega, said he was satisfied with the proven facts and the work of the Prosecutor’s Office.
“We are satisfied, calmly confirmed the facts, but not happy because (these facts) are a tragedy for the victims and their families. of Romario Veloz and 5 for the injured César Véliz and Rolando Robledo who does material justice, we believe in relation to the events; this will allow closure and perhaps a signal that deadly weapons cannot be used to control public order,” said the Regional Prosecutor, Adrián Vega .
“The Prosecutor’s Office is satisfied with the work of the prosecutors, legal advisors, Investigative Police and their experts, as well as civil society and the victims who provided evidence to achieve this result,” emphasized the Regional Persectuor.
It should be noted that this is a first-time ruling, with appeal deadlines.
