The former president of the La Plata Gymnastics and Fencing Club, Gabriel Pellegrinofinally appeared at the investigative appointment arranged for this Tuesday, February 7, 2023, within the framework of the case for “blame court” that is being processed in the Functional Instruction Unit (UFI) 5 of La Plata in which the death of the renowned fan and partner Cesar “Lolo” Regueiro.
At 11:15 a.m., he entered the building located on Avenida 7 between 56 and 57, accompanied by his defense attorney. Cesar Albarracinwith whom he appeared at the prosecutor’s office in charge of the investigating prosecutor John Menucciwhere they delivered a letter and it was formally processed.
Judicial sources explained to 0221.com.ar that “Pellegrino presented a brief disclaiming culpable havoc derived from the improper use of tear gas by the Buenos Aires police.” In this sense, he maintained that “neither he nor the club have anything to do with it, it is a question of the police operation” that was in charge of police personnel who depend on the Buenos Aires Minister of Security, Sergio Berni.
Regarding the alleged irregularities of the club, the ex-owner “tripero” expressed that “The club is in order, it had and still has all the authorizations from the security organizations to play the matches, that it was authorized to play the match against Boca Juniors, and that all the official divisions had authorized it”detailed sources with access to the judicial file.
The file was opened on the night of October 6, 2022 in the framework of a match played by the Gimnasia and Esgrima La Plata clubs that hosted Boca Juniors. For reasons that are trying to be established, hundreds of people were fighting to enter the Bosque stadium, but the doors were closed because the capacity was almost full. In this context, the fans began to throw stones at the police personnel who responded with a battery of tear gas and rubber bullets.
Due to the effect of the wind, the gases entered the stadium, the match was suspended and left one person dead, another fan (Rodrigo Arballo) lost his left eye, his girlfriend received several impacts from rubber bullets in the back and hundreds of fans with respiratory problems who recovered over the course of hours. Both have already declared in the file and have the sponsorship of the lawyers Gustavo Galasso and ezekiel funes.
In the file, along with Pellegrino and the head of APREVIDE, edward apariciothe police chiefs have already been prosecuted sebastian perea and Juan Manuel Gorbaran. On the other hand, the prosecution of Pellegrino is the gateway to other possible accusations of former leaders of Gymnastics for the crime of “illicit association” which points to a potential overselling of tickets in that match. This is an open line of investigation in which there are still no formal charges.
320 police officers took part in the security operation at the stadium. The agent Fernando Nahuel Falconstated that “it all begins once the head of service orders the doors to close because APREVIDE informs him that monitoring reports that the stadium’s capacity was complete.”
After the repression, the Buenos Aires Police was removed from the investigation. Instead, experts from the Argentine Federal Police arrived who raised “450 pods served with anti-riot cartridges”. According to an Internal Affairs resolution, Capt. martin market of the Departmental Support Group (GAD) “would have recklessly and without any justification thrown a tear gas bomb and a smoke bomb, which had been scattered around the playing field, causing serious consequences to the people who were in inside the stadium.”
A witness said that the riots began at gate 21, which is on the Bosque side, where a group of between 500 and 800 people were fighting to enter the stadium.
