Josevan Dionísio sentenced to 28 years for death of Mãe Bernadete in quilombo settlement
A jury court sentenced Josevan Dionísio dos Santos to 28 years in prison for the murder of Mãe Bernadete, which occurred in August 2023 in Simões Filho (BA).
Third defendant sentenced to 28 years for execution of Mãe Bernadete in Simões Filho
A jury court sentenced Josevan Dionísio dos Santos to 28 years in closed-regime imprisonment for the murder of Maria Bernadete Pacífico Moreira, known as Mãe Bernadete, according to agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br. The trial took place on Tuesday at the Ruy Barbosa Forum in Salvador and accepted charges brought by the Public Ministry of the State of Bahia (MPBA).
Josevan, identified by the MPBA by the nickname BZ or Buzuin, is pointed to as one of the perpetrators of the crime. According to the prosecution, he acted together with Arielson da Conceição Santos — tried in April this year and already sentenced to 29 years and nine months in prison.
Mãe Bernadete was murdered in August 2023, at the age of 72, at the headquarters of the Quilombo Pitanga dos Palmares, in Simões Filho, in the Metropolitan Region of Salvador, with 25 gunshots. The crime was motivated by the quilombo leader's firm resistance to illicit activities in the community, including the installation of drug-dealing points and the illegal occupation of areas, which generated conflict with members of a criminal organisation operating in the region.
Wellington Pacífico, son of Mãe Bernadete, attended the trial and spoke at the end of the session. "The third person involved in the cowardly murder. A guy like that fired 25 shots into my mother, and he was there as if he hadn't done anything," he said, adding: "I want to thank the Public Ministry. And tell all of you that no one is above the law. And even facing so much pain, the legacy continues. We want justice for Mãe Bernadete."
Josevan is the third of five defendants to be tried. Before him, the jury court had already sentenced, also in April, Marílio dos Santos, considered the instigator of the crime, to 40 years, five months and 22 days in prison. Marílio was at large at the time of the trial and was killed in a police operation two days after the sentence, when officers were attempting to carry out the arrest warrant.
Still awaiting trial are Sérgio Ferreira de Jesus, with a trial date scheduled for 21 October at the jury court, and Ydney Carlos dos Santos de Jesus, also accused of having been an instigator of the murder.
Source: Google News BR — São Paulo