In a press conference this Thursday afternoon (24), delegate Daniel Cohen, who is leading investigations into the attack on the car of the mayor of Taboão da Serra, José Aprígio da Silva, who is running for re-election, said that there is evidence of involvement of four people in the case. They are: Gilmar de Jesus Santos, 33 years old, arrested last Saturday (19) in a region on the border between the municipalities of Osasco and Barueri, Jeferson Ferreira de Souza, who helped in the escape, and two other people.
Also participating in the press conference were Hélio Bressan, sectional delegate from Taboão da Serra, and Júlio Guebert, director of the Judicial Police Department of Macro São Paulo (Demacro), responsible for the region involving the capital and neighboring municipalities.
Guebert said that the interview was called to inform the press and society that there is still no clear motivation for the attempted murder and that hypotheses cannot be ruled out. “We will not let the police and their work be used by any of the campaigns,” Guebert said. According to the director of Demacro, both the campaign of the current mayor, Aprígio, and that of his competitor, Engenheiro Daniel, seek to explore hypotheses in the final stretch, which has moved behind the scenes of local politics.
According to Bressan, there is nothing conclusive about what the objective of those involved in the attack was, nor whether there were those who ordered the crime. With Gilmar Santos, when he was arrested, R$7.85 thousand in cash were found. During interrogation, he denied having participated in the crime and attributed the amount to the sale of a car.
The police officers also reported that it was possible to identify several details between the ambush and the escape, carried out through a section that indicated knowledge and planning, by the suspects, of the necessary movement. Jeferson was waiting for the two attackers and helped them escape. There are also images of a meeting between those involved, which may indicate that it was a planned action. The murder weapon was not found or identified. The Public Security Secretariat confirmed that it was a rifle.
The attack
At around 2:30 pm on Friday (18), Aprígio was hit by a shot that pierced the armored glass of the car he was in. The other three occupants of the vehicle were not injured. Everyone left a lunch, a campaign commitment, when they were followed by the car containing at least two people, including the man arrested on Saturday. According to Bressan, shortly afterwards, close to the Régis Bittencourt Highway, which runs through the municipality, the attack occurred, apparently aimed at the mayor.
