The weapon that they had planted to cover up the crime of Blas Correas was "useless"

Natalia Iocco

08/12/2020 - 16:17

• Clarín.com
• Police

"We want to march from peace and silence. We want to remember my brother as who he was, a calm kid who did no harm to anyone and who went out for a drink with his friends and that his hands that are supposed to have taken his life take care of yourself, " the brother of Valentino Blas Correas (17) , the adolescent murdered by the Córdoba police a week ago , told Clarín .

This Thursday at 6.30 pm they will hold a march to ask for Justice and "to prevent this from happening again."

Meanwhile, the investigation is advancing against officers Lucas Gómez (35) and Javier Alarcón (31) , who until this Monday were accused of qualified homicide (for being members of a security force) and aggravated (for the use of a firearm). fire). And that this Tuesday they were also accused of the attempted murder against the rest of Valentino's friends.

With them were two other agents who are being investigated and are analyzing expanding the accusation against them: they are officers Yamila Martínez and Wanda Esquivel.

Now, with the results of the investigations, they determined that a weapon found near the scene of the crime was "useless". That element is key in the case, because for the family it had been planted by the police to justify the actions of Alarcón and Gómez, who fired at the white Fiat Argo in which Valentino was with four friends.

According to the record, in the hands of the prosecution in charge of José Mana, the police officers who participated in the brutal operation declared that the driver of a Ford converted into a taxi had warned them of a black bag that the boys threw from the moving Fiat.

Valentino Blas Correas was 17 years old and was with four friends when he was attacked by police.

The expert reports determined that it was "useless" that it was "inoperative" and that "it did not have the firing pin." That is, it was not possible for it to be used to shoot. Furthermore, the police officers who received this testimony did not take the data. of the alleged driver, for which he has not been identified, nor did he appear to confirm his statements at the prosecution nor does anyone know who he is.

That is why the Blas Correas family is sure that the same police officers planted the weapon to justify the shooting. There were -at least- five shots that hit the white Argo and one of them killed the teenager. Another, passed within millimeters of Cristóbal, a friend of Valentino who was traveling to his right and who delivered a hooded diver with two holes, one for entry and one for exit from a shot. There would also be a third embedded in the headrest on the left side, where another of the boys was riding. 

Hugo Luna , the lawyer representing Javier Alarcón, one of the police officers who shot Blas and who is in custody, said: “Obviously it never crossed his mind to cause any harm to anyone in the line of duty. He is totally sorry for the consequences of the action ”.

The entire police procedure is under investigation. The event led to the removal of the provincial police leadership.

In parallel, the journalist Juan Federico, from La Voz del Interior, reported that Gómez had already been involved in a judicial instance that questioned his actions. The Ministry of Security of the Province of Córdoba, which had made it available, put it back into operation.

Gómez was charged and the accusation against him was brought to trial. They accused him of participating in the police cover-up plot to protect La Calera's serial rapist, Leandro Castañares.

Castañares was convicted in 2018 for six sexual attacks committed in 2016 in the cities of Córdoba and La Calera. And they discovered that their actions were possible thanks to the police cover-up. That is why the prosecutor Tomás Casas charged Gómez and officers Diego Busto, Gabriel Miranda Ércoli and Daniel Vigil, but they have not yet been tried. However, due to an administrative decision, Gómez returned to fulfill his duties and carry his weapon.

The pain of Blas's family and friends at his farewell.

The crime of Valentino Blas Correas occurred last Thursday after an outing with his classmates. On their way home, the teenagers ran into a motorcyclist with whom they had an argument and, upon seeing a control, they left the place.

According to the boys' statement, the motorcycle driver kicked the car door and tore a mirror from them. That same motorcyclist reportedly notified the police at the checkpoint and that is why an alert was broadcast on the radio.  When he saw the police , the young driver friend of Blas got scared and sped up : it was then that the policemen began to shoot at the car in which this group of teenagers was driving.

Juan is 19 years old and is Valentino's older brother. With the intention of remembering his brother and asking for justice, he and his family summoned a march for this Thursday at 6 p.m. in General Paz and Colón, Córdoba capital. "We want to remember Blas as who he was, a calm boy. And that is why we march peacefully, it is a march from peace and pain, it is not from hatred and revenge," he said in a video.

GL