The trial for the crime of Miguel Heredia had a scandalous outcome this Friday in the framework of the allegations and the verdict of the public jury that found the defendants not guilty. In this way, the two defendants, for “homicide qualified by the premeditated contest of two or more people aggravated by the use of a firearm”, they would be released in the next few hours, after verification that they have no impediment to do so.
As I was already reporting 0221.com.arthe hearings were being held throughout the week in the Oral and Criminal Court No. 5, in charge of Carmen Palacios Arias. There they addressed what happened to the 21-year-old who was murdered in the town of Toulouse in March 2018. The defendants were Juan Domingo Talerico y Claudio Alexis Torreswho were accused of being the perpetrators of the shot that ended the life of the young man in the La Favela neighborhood in Tolosa.
As already reported, the fact for which the defendants were considered not guilty by the public jury. was investigated by the prosecutor Virginia Bravo, head of the Functional Instruction Unit (UFI) 7 of La Plata. When requesting the elevation to trial of the cause, he asserted that “On March 13, 2018, at approximately 03:00 a.m. on Calle 525 between 17 and 18 of La Plata, in the vicinity of the Plaza Barrio Justicia Social, at least four male subjects -all of them armed- fired multiple shots at a group of people, including Miguel Heredia, Yhoana Andrea Carabajal, Dana Córdoba and Luana Córdobawho had had previous problems of violence with his ex-partner -one of the aggressors-, hitting one of Miguel Heredia’s shots at humanity at the height of his head.
The prosecutor framed the fact as “aggravated homicide by the premeditation of two or more people”, a crime that has life imprisonment as the only penalty pending. The oral trial was to take place in 2020 but was suspended due to preventive and mandatory social isolation (ASPO) due to the coronavirus pandemic. The defendants have been in pretrial detention for more than five years.
The technical judge of this jury trial is Carmen Palacios Arias of the Oral Criminal Court V of La Plata. The defenses are in the hands of the official defender gladys lopez who assists Torres and private attorney Lucas Bianco by Taleric. For this fact he is a fugitive Lionel “Pitin” Torres who has a criminal record and is the brother of one of the defendants.
Trial by jury is the way to guarantee citizen participation in the administration of justice, since the jury grants greater impartiality in decision-making. This modality of judgment is embodied in the National Constitution and in the Province of BS AS it is the only one that has established the possibility that the accused can choose it as well as renounce it. It is the twelve citizens without knowledge of the law who must decide whether or not the defendants are guilty. This decision must be unanimous, in case of guilt, because they are crimes that have a penalty of more than 15 years. If an agreement is not reached, the jury has the possibility of voting up to three times to reach a decision.
