05/02/2020 - 18:24
- Clarín.com
- Society
"It's been four years, eight months and I don't know how many days I've been on hiatus." That is my true isolation. All this time I have been in quarantine. I try to start again, to get out, not to suffer panic attacks when I am with many people. I try to move forward. But when things like this happen, they kill Agustín again . And I bury it again.
Silvina Sosa is the mother of Agustín Cantello, a 25-year-old young man who was killed in 2015 while attending a kiosk in Luján. The assailant who entered the store, stole the proceeds, and shot his son dead in the chest is one of the detainees who were given house arrest in the context of the coronavirus pandemic.
"I am devastated." When I found out that the killer was free, I looked up the video of the robbery and saw it again. They allege that it was an accident, that his shot escaped, ”Silvina recounted. But it is clearly seen that the kid entered one to steal and pointing at Agustin all the time . Even so, the judges do not give the firm sentence because they are seeing what happened to him. Now it seems that he is a saint, that he studies, that he wants to work, that he has good conduct. I have no hatred for him or his family. It seems good to me that he wants to vindicate himself but is serving a sentence. Because my son is not and it cannot be that the murderer is like a hot dog around his house.
A week ago the phone rang for Guillermo, Agustín's father. He was stunned: a WhatsApp message from a friend of his son said that Nicolás Caro (21) had been released from prison.
—The first thing I thought was "It can't be, it must have been confused." So I called an acquaintance I have on a radio here in Luján to see if he could confirm it. And yes, it was true.
No one notified Agustín's relatives that Caro, who was found guilty of aggravated homicide , had been given house arrest.
Although the sentence is final, the application for a sentence is in process before the Juvenile Criminal Court. When he entered to rob the kiosk in which Agustín worked, Caro was 16 years old . He was detained days after the fact and was housed in the Almafuerte Closed Center. There he remained under a tutelary treatment and attended the Secondary, reasons that his defense took to request house arrest.
In the first place, the Juvenile Responsibility Court Number 1 denied the benefit, but after the appeal, the Third Chamber of the Chamber of Appeal and Guarantees in Criminal Matters of Mercedes, in charge of Luis Alejandro Gil Juliani, granted on April 21 the Caro's house arrest for "good conduct and to continue his studies."
—We are worried, this guy is on the loose like nothing. The Municipality made itself available and is going to get me a lawyer to see if he can get this guy back in jail, ”says Agustín's father. I spoke to the prosecutor and she apologized. But this is going back to the same thing. They have released a lot of people. I have been locked in my house for 40 days. I am 63 years old, I operate a remis that is stopped and I am going to see how much longer I can endure like this. I am a smoker, I have a problem with my lungs and I did not quit due to the risk of getting coronavirus.
The news of the house arrest generated rejection not only in Augustine's family and friends. Councilors of the Renovating Front of Luján also stated their position in a statement.
"Given the outrageous news that accounts for the benefit of house arrest in favor of the murderer of a young man from Luja, from the Frente Renovador de Luján we express our repudiation of this irresponsible decision of Justice, and express our concern at the possible release of hundreds of detainees throughout the country, ”they indicated.
"When these things happen I feel like they kill my son again," Silvina blurts helplessly. What can I tell you? My eyes hurt from crying so much. April 18 was Agustin's birthday, he would have turned 30. He loved to throw parties, invite his friends. Now I have to go see him at the cemetery. And this time I couldn't even bring him a flower for his birthday. I am locked up here while this man, his murderer, is in the house as calmly as possible.
Luján's neighbors are concerned that Nicolás Caro, the one convicted of killing Agustín Cantello, was given house arrest.
The case
On August 13, 2015, Nicolás Caro, at the time 16 years old, entered to rob the kiosk that Agustín was servicing and killed him with a shot to the chest despite the fact that he had not resisted giving him the proceeds of the day .
The event occurred around 8:00 pm at the "Max" kiosk, located in Lavalle at 800, in the center of Luján, eight blocks from the Basilica. And the dramatic scenes were recorded on the commercial security camera.
The images show how a boy dressed in a blue jacket and an open face entered the premises and waited his turn to be attended.
After selling him to a woman and then to a man with a yellow pilot, Agustín was preparing to attend to the young man when he extracted a firearm.
In the sequence, it is observed that the assailant snatches some money that was on the counter and shoots him at point blank range , without resisting, after which he runs away from the place.
Posters remembering Agustín in the kiosk where he worked and was assassinated.
Agustín managed to walk a few steps until he fell to the badly wounded floor and was helped by the client who had bought him minutes before, who was still inside the kiosk.
The witness immediately called an ambulance that transferred Agustín to the Municipal Hospital of Luján, where he finally died.
Neighbors and relatives marched in Luján to ask for justice. For the murder, the domes of the local police station and the Department were relieved.
Days after the murder, both Nicolás Caro, the author of the shooting, and his alleged accomplice, identified as “Chucky”, 17, who apparently was waiting for him on the corner of the store on a motorcycle, were arrested and housed in two juvenile institutes. . In September 2017, "Chuky" was released.