Two witnesses were heard today (16) at an instruction and trial hearing in the process that judges those accused of involvement in the death of João Pedro Mattos Pinto, a 14-year-old teenager shot in May 2020. The case took place during a police operation in Complexo do Salgueiro, in São Gonçalo, in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro.
three civilian police are defendants in the lawsuit: Mauro José Gonçalves, Maxwell Gomes Pereira and Fernando de Brito Meister. They were assigned to the Coordination of Special Resources (Core), a special operations unit of the Civil Police.
The hearing lasted approximately three hours. It was conducted by Judge Juliana Grillo El-Jaick, from the 4th Criminal Court of São Gonçalo. The first to testify was a 17-year-old girl, a friend of João Pedro who witnessed the episode. According to her account, they were in a backyard with other friends, when they heard helicopter noises and shots. Although they tried to take shelter, they were met with the arrival of police. The witness also said that she saw a man, wearing a cap and vest, jump over the wall.
The other testimony was from a mason who worked in the region. The man said that, during the approach, he showed the work tool to the police and went to his brother’s house, which is opposite the residence where João Pedro was killed. After entering, he locked himself in the bathroom to protect himself from the gunshots.
The operation was carried out jointly by the Civil Police and the Federal Police. The agents served arrest warrants and search and seizure warrants against members of a criminal faction. The following month, the Civil Police investigation was forwarded to the Public Ministry of Rio de Janeiro (MPRJ), which presented the complaint accepted by the Justice.
According to the complaint, the house where João Pedro played with cousins and friends was invaded by police, who entered shooting, and was marked with 72 shots after the operation. Wounded, João Pedro was taken by helicopter by the police, but did not resist his injuries.
This was the second instruction and trial hearing. In September, at the first hearing, João Pedro’s father, Neilton da Costa Pinto, reported that he only had news about the whereabouts of the body the following day. Other witnesses will still be heard, including six federal police appointed by the defense of the defendants.
