The room of the Oral Criminal Court (TOC) 3 of Lomas de Zamora. (Photo: Gustavo Amarelle)
One of the seven former police officers accused of the so-called Wilde Massacre, an iconic “trigger easy” case happened in that Buenos Aires party 28 years ago in which four people were killeddeclared himself “not guilty”, while another defended the police actions during the operation although he admitted that it could have been an “error”, judicial sources reported.
Both defendants were the only ones who made use of what are called “last words” before knowing the verdict of the oral trial that is in charge of the Oral Criminal Court (TOC) 3 of Lomas de Zamora, on December 19 .
Former Corporal Marcos Rodríguez -who had been fugitive for 20 years until he was finally arrested and now he is in the dock – he assured before the judges Marcelo Hugo Dellature, Luis Miguel Gabián and Claudio Fernández, that he is “innocent” and that he hopes that they “provide Justice”.
For his part, former commissioner Eduardo Gómez defended what was done on the day January 10, 1994when the “massacre” took place, assuring that it is “complex” and “difficult” to be a police officer and admitting that he could have made a mistake in his performance.
“If you have a writing error, you can delete it or correct it in your work. We cannot make an error, unfortunately we have a very fine line, our error is within the field of crime,” said Gómez.
While, Former commissioners Roberto Mantel, former officer Osvaldo Lorenzón, former second lieutenant Pablo Dudek, and former officers Julio Gatto and Marcelo Valenga, decided not to use their last words.
After this, the court ordered an intermediate room until on the 19th of this month when he will announce the verdict and sentence.
The Wilde Massacre left a sole survivor, Claudio Dïaz, who was driving his vehicle.
28 years ago
The Wilde Massacre occurred on January 10, 1994 and The victims were taxi driver Roberto Corbo and his passengers, Gustavo Mendoza and Enrique Bielsa, who were traveling aboard a Peugeot 505, and book seller Edgardo Cicutínwho was traveling in a Dodge 1500, driven by Claudio Díaz, the only one who survived the attack.
the five were shot at by members of the Lanús Investigation Brigade who apparently mistook them for criminals and shot them nearly 200 times.
all ex-employees They face charges for the crimes of “quadruple simple homicide and an attempted simple homicide”for the only surviving victim of the attack.
According to the expert reports, the vehicles involved and the victims rThey received about 200 9-millimeter bullet impacts shot with pistols and at least one Uzi submachine gun.
In principle, the policemen who intervened in the incident were arrested, although the Chamber of Appeals and Guarantees dismissed and released them.
In addition to those who are now going to trial, the accused were commissioner César Córdoba, Carlos Saladino and Hugo Reyes, (now deceased), all members of the brigade whose deputy chief was the then commissioner and current lawyer Juan José Ribelli, prosecuted and later acquitted by the attack on the AMIA and who was not in the country when the event occurred and former second lieutenant Marciano González, who was left out of the process due to mental incapacity, after suffering a cerebrovascular accident (CVA).
After appeals from relatives of the victims, in 2003 and in 2007 they were again dismissed for the same measure.
Nevertheless, the case continued its course until the Buenos Aires Supreme Court of Justice, which in 2013 ordered the reopening of the file and annulment of the dismissals.
