Former councilor and ex-civil police officer Jerônimo Guimarães Filho, known as Jerominho, was arrested this afternoon (27) by agents of the Interstate and Capture Police (Polinter), in compliance with an arrest warrant for the conviction of a crime committed in 2005. , of extortion increased by the use of firearms.
According to the agents, investigations show that the criminal group he commanded extorted van drivers in the Campo Grande region, in the west of Rio de Janeiro. The gang also committed other crimes in that region, such as homicides, extortion, illegal water trade and sale of gas cylinders.
The investigations point out that Jerominho would be the leader of the militia called the Justice League, which operated in the west of the city and had as its symbol a bat with open wings. Along with his brother Natalino Guimarães, also a former civil police officer and state deputy, the militia was the most powerful in Rio in the 2000s.
According to the Civil Police, the criminal group extorted van drivers in the Campo Grande region to pay the amounts determined by the faction. Jerominho was sentenced to 16 years in prison. The militiaman will be sent to the Department of Penitentiary Administration (Seap) and will be taken to a state prison to serve the sentence.
The Justice League was the largest and best-known militia faction in Rio de Janeiro. His symbol is the shield of the superhero Batman. The houses that paid monthly, with protection from the militia, had in front of the house the figure of the bat with open wings.
Jerominho had already been arrested in 2007, after being convicted of other crimes, and has been free since 2018. His brother, Natalino, was arrested at the same time and was also released along with Jerominho. They served time for several years in a federal prison and were later taken to Rio, where they finished serving their sentence.
