A judge in the Leandro Lo murder trial has ruled that his alleged murderer, Henrique Otavio Oliveira Velozo, can continue earning his police officer salary despite being charged with the crime. The defense made the request and argued that there should be no judgement on the remuneration of public servants until the defendant has been either convicted or acquitted. Judge Marcio Ferraz Nunes, from the 16th Public Treasury Court of São Paulo, accepted the argument and made the ruling on March 13th, 2023.
The lawyer for the family of Leandro Lo, Adriano Salles Vani, spoke to CNN Brasil about the recent ruling on the alleged murderer receiving his police salary and described it as “a slap in the face of the family, and of society,” and added that “the victim was the breadwinner of the family. The family is only receiving help from friends, while the murderer receives his salary even in prison.”
Lo was killed in a nightclub in Sao Paulo, Brazil on the night of August 7th, 2022 after getting into a physical altercation with Velozo and restraining him. After releasing him, Velozo returned and allegedly shot Lo in the head from close range. Although Lo was rushed to hospital, he did not make it and was pronounced dead. Velozo handed himself over to authorities and an initial hearing in the case was scheduled for February 3rd, 2023.
The initial hearing was then delayed by over a month, and will now take place on March 24th, 2023 instead. Naturally, the case has attracted the attention of the media because of Lo’s status as an icon in the BJJ world but it also highlights a lot of the issues that Brazilians can face with their police force in everyday life. Jitsmagazine will be following the news on the murder trial of Leandro Lo long after the initial hearing takes place, bringing you updates as and when they happen.
