Two more arrested for involvement in Marielle’s murder

Photo: Agência Brasil

This Thursday (9), the Federal Police (PF) executed two preventive arrest warrants against suspects involved in the murders of councilor Marielle Franco and driver Anderson Gomes, which occurred in March 2018. The arrest orders were issued by the Supreme Court Federal Court (STF), at the request of the Attorney General’s Office (PGR).

One of the warrants, carried out in Rio de Janeiro, targeted Robson Calixto da Fonseca, known as “Peixe”, former advisor to the counselor at the Rio State Court of Auditors, Domingos Brazão. The other arrest order was taken to the federal prison in Campo Grande, where military police officer Ronald Paulo Alves Pereira is already serving a sentence for murder and hiding a corpse. According to investigations, Pereira was head of the Muzema militia, in the west zone of Rio.

Both prisoners are suspected of monitoring Marielle and planning the attack. Peixe and Pereira – together with the brothers Domingos and Chiquinho Brazão, and former Civil Police delegate Rivaldo Barbosa, arrested since March – were charged by the PGR with the murder of the councilor.

In the complaint delivered to STF minister Alexandre de Moraes, last Tuesday, the PGR names the Brazão brothers as members of a criminal faction, and presents the understanding that due to their relationship with the executors, such as former military police officers Ronnie Lessa and Élcio Queiroz;, and other circumstances (such as phone calls, vehicle movement and payments), they would be the ones who ordered the crime. The prosecutor’s office recommends that they and Barbosa be prosecuted and convicted. Another person involved who has already been detained is firefighter Maxwell Simões Corrêa, accused of collaborating in the destruction of evidence related to the crime.

The PGR believes that the motivation for Marielle’s death is linked to real estate exploitation in areas controlled by the militia. In one of his statements, Ronnie Lessa reported that the councilor went against the Brazão’s interests by defending the occupation of land by low-income people.

*With information from Agência Brasil