Man pretends to be a bricklayer to steal property in Caratinga has conviction upheld by TJMG

Man pretends to be a bricklayer to steal property in Caratinga — Photo: Disclosure

A man who pretended to be a bricklayer's assistant to enter a property under renovation and steal materials had his conviction upheld by the Court of Justice of Minas Gerais (TJMG). The three thefts occurred in Caratinga, in the east of Minas.

According to the lawsuit, he rang the intercom and told the victim's parents that he worked at the construction site. As he had already worked there for a short period, he was able to obtain authorization to enter the property.

The property was undergoing renovation on the first floor. The victim's parents lived on the second floor, while she occupied the third.

During the entrances, a ceramic scratcher, a 32-inch television and around 500 meters of power cable, valued at R$5,000, were taken.

Part of the material, according to the records, was sold to receivers and exchanged for drugs.

The 9th Criminal Chamber of the TJMG upheld the conviction for three qualified thefts. The sentence was established at two years, four months and 24 days of open prison, and was replaced by measures restricting rights, in addition to the payment of a 12-day fine.

Defense questioned use of fraud

The defense asked that the crimes be considered simple thefts. The argument was that the man had simply taken advantage of a failure in monitoring the property.

The appeal's rapporteur, judge Kárin Emmerich, rejected the request. For her, the man not only took advantage of an opportunity, but deceived the residents to gain entry to the property.

"Access to the site was only possible because the appellant used fraudulent methods designed to mislead the victim, creating a false perception of legitimacy regarding his presence in the construction. The fraud, therefore, did not consist of the theft of the goods itself, but in the ruse used to overcome the surveillance exercised over the property, reducing the victim's caution and allowing free access to the interior of the work."

With this understanding, the Court maintained the classification of crimes as qualified theft.

Other processes

The defense also asked that the crimes analyzed in this process be considered together with two other cases to which the man responds, which is legally called criminal continuity.

The rapporteur rejected the request. According to her, as the convictions result from different processes, the analysis of a possible unification of sentences must be carried out by the court responsible for Criminal Execution.

“It is precisely in the enforcement phase that the magistrate has all the necessary elements to jointly examine the final convictions that may exist to the detriment of the convict, assessing, in a global way, the fulfillment of the requirements required by article 71 of the Penal Code, even avoiding the risk of conflicting decisions between different judgments of knowledge.”

Judge Walner Barbosa Milward de Azevedo and 2nd Degree Judge Maurício Cantarino followed the rapporteur's vote.

READ ALSO:

Videos from the East and Northeast of Minas Gerais

See other news from the region at g1 Vales de Minas Gerais.