Tuesday, January 17, 2023 | 9:45 a.m.
Last Friday, January 6, Luis Miguel “Pato” Cantero (37) was released from Penal Unit One of Loreto as a free man after serving a ten-year sentence for robbery and firearm abuse, acts that were perpetrated in Oberá.
Among his belongings he carefully kept the certificate of “Service of sentence”, issued by the Provincial Penitentiary Service (SPP), based on the calculation of the Penal Court One of Oberá.
He was anxious to be reunited with his wife and five children. Among other plans, he had everything organized to start working in construction with his father, although he first planned to enjoy a few days with the family.
But just four days after his release, he was involved in a sinister road when he was riding a motorcycle on Gobernador Barreyro street, almost Catamarca, in the center of Oberá.
According to the first police investigations, a car driven by a woman would not have been unrelated to the incident, while Cantero suffered serious injuries and is admitted to intensive care at the Samic de Oberá Hospital.
In dialogue with El Territorio, his concubine Romina Meza was very dismayed by the situation and mentioned that the life of the father of her five children hangs by a thread.
“The doctors tell me that he is very serious and they keep him in an induced coma. He has a skull fracture, chest and lung injuries, ”he specified.
On the other hand, he mentioned that although at first in the First Section they informed him that there were no clues about the intervention of another vehicle in the accident, later they indicated that they found indications of the alleged participation of a car in the sequence. “I don’t think my husband fell alone and I hope the police find the person responsible for what happened,” Meza remarked.
suspicions
The road accident occurred in a residential area in the center of Oberá. Cantero was lying on Gobernador Barreyro, Catamarca corner.
In this regard, a spokesperson for the case indicated that at the scene of the incident, the Police identified the driver of a car that could have participated in the accident. She is a salesperson with a residence in another town who was in Oberá for work reasons.
Despite the indications, strikingly the vehicle was not kidnapped and nor was the driver subjected to a breathalyzer test, as is protocol in accidents with serious injuries, such as this case.
The Police only took the data from the owner of the car and allowed her to continue her march.
In any case, before the consultation of this morning, from the Regional Unit II they indicated that the woman has been identified and in the next few days she will be summoned, while the vehicle will be subjected to expertise, the same as Cantero’s motorcycle.
For his part, a neighbor from Catamarca street said that he arrived at the scene when the ambulance and a patrol car were already there, an instance in which he observed a parked dark-colored car, with beacons on and a woman who was talking to a police officer.
“The car was in Catamarca, about 20 meters from the man on the motorcycle who was sitting on Barreyro street. Next to the car was a lady who told a police officer not to hijack her car. That’s what I was able to hear,” the witness said.
Meanwhile, Romina Meza said that on Tuesday night her partner went out to buy something for dinner. The family resides on Calle 25 de Mayo, a couple of blocks from the scene of the accident.
“I hope the police investigate seriously. My husband served his sentence and he has five children who today do not want to eat and cry for their father, ”she reflected sadly.
various background
On January 6, Luis Miguel Cantero fully served the sentence imposed for “three acts of robbery and aggravated abuse of a weapon for having been committed against a member of the police force,” as cited in the corresponding certificate.
According to the Court that sentenced him, the defendant perpetrated three robberies in different parts of Oberá, two of them were armed in the form of a motorbike, and the third when he entered a house to steal a motorbike and while fleeing shot himself with the Police.
Due to this last fact, the accusation and the subsequent sentence that he already served were aggravated.
But years before, the name of Pato Cantero had repercussions in the media when he was tried for an attempted murder, although on that occasion he was acquitted by Criminal Court One of Oberá as there was no compelling evidence against him.
The trial was held in mid-2013 and the person involved had already been deprived of his liberty for a year earlier for other crimes.
In the oral debate of 2013, an event recorded on December 18, 2011, on Finlandia de Oberá street, was aired, a circumstance in which the accused was riding a motorcycle and had a dispute with Carlos Daniel Gómez, who was his friend.
Cantero got off the vehicle, argued with Gómez and left. But then, and under unclear circumstances, the friend was shot multiple times.
During the debate, the victim -who was miraculously saved- contributed his version of the facts and acknowledged that he doubted that Cantero had shot him. She said that she did not see the attacker and that she woke up in the hospital.
Consequently, for the judges, the contribution of the victim and the witnesses, as well as the scant evidence of the prosecution, were not enough to incriminate Cantero and they acquitted him for the benefit of the doubt.
