Colonel Ferrufino appeals preventive detention in Marset case with new evidence
The defence of Lieutenant Colonel Ferrufino seeks to overturn his detention in the Marset case. The appeal hearing has been scheduled for this Wednesday at 14:30.
Ferrufino's defence seeks freedom with new elements in Marset case
Lieutenant Colonel Juan Marcelo Ferrufino Rojas, detained at Patacamaya prison, has an appeal hearing scheduled for this Wednesday at 14:30 with the aim of regaining his freedom, according to reporting by El Deber. His lawyer, Freddy Velásquez, also announced that the officer will expand his informative statement before the Public Prosecutor's Office, though he warned that both proceedings could overlap in timing.
Ferrufino has been held in preventive detention for six months in the course of the investigation into the alleged theft of suitcases and valuable items from the residence where Uruguayan drug trafficker Sebastián Marset was captured in Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
Velásquez characterised the detention as unjust and argued that keeping his client imprisoned whilst the investigation proceeds amounts to an "anticipated sentence".
Defence places Ferrufino at another residence during the operation
The defence's central argument revolves around the development of the operation on 13 March, during which two separate properties were raided. According to Velásquez, Ferrufino was in charge of the team that acted at the second residence, where Marset's sister and several members of his security group were apprehended.
The lawyer stated that his client remained at that location from 2:55 in the morning until afternoon and that he never entered the residence where Marset was detained, from which the investigated items allegedly disappeared. Velásquez added that at the second residence there is no complaint whatsoever regarding the disappearance of belongings, and that video footage and statements incorporated into the case file would support that version.
Statements by Lieutenant Colonel Correa as key support
The defence considers the recent statements of Lieutenant Colonel Erick Correa to be decisive, who, according to Velásquez, provided information confirming that Ferrufino was assigned to a different point in the operation and not to the property where the alleged irregularities occurred.
With those new elements, the defence requested an expansion of Ferrufino's statement before the Prosecutor's Office to incorporate additional evidence which, in his lawyer's view, would demonstrate the officer's non-participation in the investigated facts.
Charges facing the officer
The Prosecutor's Office attributes to Ferrufino the crimes of embezzlement, dereliction of duty, aggravated theft, extortion and passive bribery, according to the background information released on the case.
The appeal hearing this Wednesday will be decisive in establishing whether the officer remains under preventive detention or whether he can face the process on bail under other precautionary measures.
Source: El Deber