When he hit 79-year-old José Ricardo dos Santos with a flying ball in the back in Osasco, Greater São Paulo, Denis Young Kim was serving an open prison sentence.
Ten years earlier, he had killed another man in the street. From inside a car, he fired an arrow that hit 63-year-old cart driver Aldemir Ribeiro Pontes in the neck.
Fantástico had access to thousands of pages of 43-year-old Denis' criminal files. A psychological report from 2022 records that he said he had left home with the intention of killing Aldemir.
The previous year, before the jury that sentenced him to 14 years in prison, Denis had said that he just wanted to scare the cart driver.
The attack on José Ricardo took place at the end of October and shocked Brazil. The elderly man was walking home when Denis, who was behind the wheel, complained about him walking down the street. José Ricardo hit the back of the car with his crutch.
Denis stopped, got out of the vehicle and ran after the elderly man, who did not see him approaching. After knocking him down with a kick to the back, he also hit José Ricardo's head with his foot. A man in the car behind reprimanded the driver, who fled.
Neighbors helped José Ricardo, who lost consciousness, woke up in the hospital and received three stitches in his head.
After being discharged, he said he still felt pain.
"I'm sitting here talking, but I can't even breathe or cough. It hurts me a lot," said the elderly man.
Images of the attack allowed police to identify Denis, who handed himself in five days later. For the Osasco police chief, Leo Salem, the attack was an attempted murder.
In a statement, Denis' defense recognized the seriousness of the attack and stated that it was necessary to prove whether there was an intention to kill.
José Ricardo dos Santos is still recovering from the attacks.
Arrow
Aldemir worked as a cart driver in Bom Retiro, in São Paulo. One of the daughters, Diana Santana Pontes, told the trial how her father was known in the neighborhood.
"He was a very nice guy. He talked to everyone. We used to say he was mayor, right?", said Diana.
During interrogation, Denis said that he had already had disagreements with Aldemir. He stated that the cart was obstructing traffic and claimed that it had scratched his car.
On September 14, 2016, Denis saw Aldemir from the apartment's balcony and went after him with a crossbow, a weapon used for hunting. The driver died at the scene.
According to Felipe Zilberman, the prosecutor responsible for the jury's accusation, the police found the crossbow and swords in Denis' house.
"In my entire career, I have never seen a crime committed with a crossbow, with an arrow, like that, in the middle of the street, in broad daylight," said the prosecutor.
Denis Young Kim was convicted of assaulting his partner.
Companion attacked
The proceedings also record an attack on the mother of one of Denis's daughters. According to the Public Ministry's complaint, in 2014, he became irritated by his daughter's crying, still a baby, and demanded that his partner calm her down.
The woman gave the baby a bottle. When the girl choked, Denis punched his companion's arms and legs. He was convicted of domestic violence in 2020.
In 2021, at the trial for Aldemir's death, Denis admitted to the shooting. When the prosecutor asked if he had aimed at the cart driver's stomach, he replied yes.
Regarding his intention, he told the jury: "I just wanted him to be a little scared." Denis was convicted of qualified homicide.
In 2022, when asking to move to the semi-open regime, Denis gave another version. According to the psychologist who evaluated him in prison, he said he went after Aldemir with the intention of killing him.
She also recorded that he showed no remorse. A test showed impulsivity, aggressiveness and difficulty dealing with frustrations. The court denied regime progression twice.
In 2023, a new evaluation recorded that Denis was able to better control aggression within prison. The psychologist stressed that it was not possible to predict how he would behave in other circumstances.
That year, Denis moved to semi-open. He could go to work, on condition that he returned to prison every day.
In 2025, another report showed that Denis was able to control his aggression and tolerate frustrations. According to the assessment, he declared himself remorseful for the crimes. In September of that year, the Court authorized the transition to the open regime.
Just over a year later, José Ricardo was shot in the back in Osasco. When talking about what he expected after the attack, the elderly man said he would like to hear an explanation from Denis.
"As a citizen, I felt and said, wow, even though he was convicted, the law was complied with, it seems like it was of no use," said prosecutor Zilberman
Denis' lawyers said Denis's criminal history cannot determine his guilt in the new case.
