Accused of throwing a bottle that killed Palmeirense leaves jail relieved, but fears for his life

Leonardo Felipe Xavier Santiago, a Flamengo fan suspected of throwing the bottle whose shrapnel killed Palmeiras player Gabriela Anelli, left this Wednesday, 12th, the jail where he had been since last Saturday, 8th, when he was arrested after a fight between fans which resulted in the death of the young fan around Allianz Parque.

Santiago had been pre-trial detained since Saturday at the Provisional Detention Center (CDP) in Pinheiros, in the western part of São Paulo. He left the place scared and without giving interviews. As he did not want to be photographed, he put a shirt over his face and lay down in the back seat of the car that drove him out of prison.

Leonardo Felipe Xavier Santiago’s lawyers said that the Flamengo supporter is “relieved” by the decision of the São Paulo Court, which determined the release of the fan. The defense, however, said that Santiago fears for his life.

“Leonardo is very scared and fearing for his integrity”, said Thiago Huber, one of the two lawyers who take care of the defense of the Flamengo fan.

“He is very upset, he is afraid, he is out of his state”, endorsed Renan Bohus, the other lawyer from Santiago. “We try to talk to him to calm him down, to show that he is safe. He is a young man who has never been involved in a fight. He has never had a criminal record,” he added.

The release license was issued at the end of this Wednesday afternoon and the Flamengo player will now return to Rio and respond to the process in freedom. He had been indicted for intentional homicide, when there is intent to kill.

Santiago is 26 years old, is from Rio and a former member of the club’s organization, Fla Manguaça, but did not come to São Paulo with members in uniform last Saturday, according to the Civil Police.

In a decision handed down earlier this Wednesday afternoon, the 12th, the judge also determined that the case should be investigated by the Department of Homicide and Personal Protection (DHPP) and no longer by the Police Station for Repression and Analysis of Sports Intolerance Crimes. (Drade).

The magistrate understood that the delegate who had been investigating the case, Cesar Saad, “was rushed and unprepared to conduct the investigations”.

Saad repeatedly stated in interviews that Santiago had confessed, in an informal conversation with the police, to having thrown the bottle that injured and killed Gabriela. She was buried this Tuesday, the 11th, in a ceremony in Embu das Artes, in Greater São Paulo, marked by emotion and requests for peace from family members and friends of the palmeirense.

However, in official testimony during interrogation at the police station, Santiago gave another version. He said that Palmeirenses threw firecrackers towards the Flamengo fans and that. in retaliation, he threw ice stones, “but these were very small and did not even reach the barrier” of metal that separated local fans and visitors.

According to the flamenguista’s lawyers, there was an “erroneous interpretation” of delegate Saad. “He confessed that he threw ice stones. The police chief supported this narrative based on testimonies from witnesses, from Palmeiras fans. But we spoke with the police chief and warned that the testimonies may be contaminated because there are interests in the process. It is not possible to decree prison based on the testimonies of people from Palmeiras”, argued Bohus.

Although he disagrees with Saad, Santiago’s defense wants the investigation to be maintained with Drade. “I’m sure there was a misinterpretation, but we trust the delegate, we know his integrity, so much so that we want the investigation to remain in Drade”, added Bohus.