Former military police officer is sentenced to 33 years in prison for murder in Ribeirão Preto

This Monday (28), the court sentenced former military police officer Yuri Vinícius de Almeida Malta to 33 years in prison for the death of Breno Gomes Huescar, aged 47, in Ribeirão Preto (SP).

The crime was committed on December 28, 2022, at the entrance to a community in Jardim Jandaia, North Zone of the city, where the victim was hit by around five gunshots.

The trial by the Jury Court took place at the Ribeirão Preto Forum, starting at 10am. The jurors accepted the Public Prosecutor's thesis and convicted the defendant of qualified homicide for a base motive and a resource that made it difficult for the victim to defend himself. Furthermore, for the MP, he is part of an extermination group.

The Court ordered the maintenance of preventive detention to guarantee public order.

Former military police officer Yuri Vinícius de Almeida Malta, sentenced to prison for murder in Ribeirão Preto (SP). — Photo: Reproduction/EPTV

Yuri Malta's defense informed that he will appeal the sentence, maintaining that the accused has a personality disorder and that he needs to undergo treatment in a custodial hospital.

Currently, the former PM is admitted to a psychiatric custody unit.

READ ALSO

Yuri Malta has been in prison since January 28, 2023. He was taken to the jury after being accused of the execution of Breno Gomes Huescar, which took place on the corner of Antônio Junqueira da Veiga and Orlando Gabriello streets.

The victim, who was a drug user, was shot four times in the abdomen and once in the back. According to the complaint, the former PM acted futilely and without giving Breno a chance to react.

A photograph of the dead victim's body was later located on Yuri's cell phone with the phrase "The night ended like this", an element cited by the prosecution as demonstrating the desire to boast in front of the group.

Expertise that compared the projectile seized at the scene of the homicide and the weapons seized from the defendant also reinforced the evidence in the case.

Former military police officer Yuri Vinícius de Almeida Malta (left) served 33 years in prison for the death of Breno Gomes Huescar, aged 47, (right) in Ribeirão Preto (SP). — Photo: Reproduction/EPTV

Extermination group investigation and other allegations

The former police officer is named by the Public Ministry and the Civil Police as a member and leader of an extermination group in Ribeirão Preto.

Investigative reports indicate that he is suspected of involvement in at least 16 homicides and six attempted homicides in the region.

According to the Civil Police, the group's members operated by invading drug sales points to execute targets and steal drugs and money from drug dealers.

In previous cases, Yuri Malta had already accumulated sentences totaling 34 years in prison for robbery and 18 years for murder. His temporary arrest in January 2023 occurred after an attempted murder in Vila Carvalho, when he shot a man who was holding his 1-year-old son.

The corporation's history indicates that Yuri joined the Military Police in May 2014 and was administratively retired in September 2017, at the age of 23, due to incapacity resulting from psychiatric issues.

In 2016, while off duty, he fired seven shots in the yard of the battalion where he worked in São Paulo and ended up hitting himself in the foot before being restrained.

VIDEOS: Everything about Ribeirão Preto, Franca and the region