“I thought it was a robbery, an assault, because no kind of loud voice or anything was heard, it was only heard when the car intercepted the other and then the shots“This is how Nicolás Connell Farrel, a key witness in the trial for the crime of Lucas González, described the moment when the civilian brigade of officers Gabriel Isassi, Juan José Nieva and Fabián López crossed the car in which Lucas and his friends were traveling the morning of November 17, 2021. Connell Farrell is the only eyewitness not related to the case that he declared in the framework of the trial, and for the lawsuit his word finish proving aggravated homicide that is imputed to the brigade.
The testimony of the 33-year-old man was one of the most anticipated since the oral debate began, more than two months ago, and was initially scheduled for the hearing on May 9. However, it took two weeks for the court to find him, since the witness address change after his declaration in the investigation stage. This Tuesday she finally entered the courtroom of the Oral Criminal Court No. 25. It was almost eleven in the morning when she sat down before the judges Hugo Navarro, Ana Dieta de Herrero and Marcelo Bartumeu. After swearing to tell the truth, he introduced himself as a Venezuelan courier delivery worker who has lived in the country for six years.
“That day I was walking my dogapproximately between 9 and 9.30 in the morning. I heard a stop and shots. I turn to see the situation and see the people in the car Nissan obstructing the Surán truck. I heard the shots and the suran startedpassed through the islet (the boulevard) of Avenida Iriarte in the direction of Luzuriaga,” began Connell Farrell, a resident of the Barracas neighborhood. “When they started, one of the boys got out of the car and began to run screaming. It was a desperate cry“continued the man, who added that” the people of the Nissan they nervously got off and then many patrolmen arrived to Iriarte, where the Nissan was”.
Gregorio Dalbón, the lawyer for the lawsuit, then asked him what he thought when he saw what was happening. “The first thing I thought was that it was a robbery, an assault, because no kind of loud voice was heard or anythingit was only heard when the car intercepted the other and then the shots”, released the man, who maintained that he heard “between seven and nine shots“. His testimony fits the story of Lucas’s friends. Joaquín, Julián and Niven, all three of them 17 years old at the time of the events, testified during the trial that They always believed that it was a robbery because, they said, there was no identification by the police which, according to what could be reconstructed through the security cameras in the area, they came following them since they stopped to buy a juice after training at the Barracas Central property.
It was the prosecutor Guillermo Pérez de la Fuente who asked Connell Farrell about the identification of the agents. He consulted for loud voices, beacons or light signals, and for possible visible identification in the brigade car. The man replied in all cases that he did not see or hear any of it.. “Did something in the clothing identify them?” the prosecutor asked. “As far as I’ve seen, no,” replied the witness, who later recalled that “they had some kind of vest”, although he specified that it was a bulletproof vest and not the light blue refractory that brigade agents usually use. Connell Farrell also said that, “because of the sound”, the shots “came from the Nissan”although he could not specify who or which of the three policemen were shooting.
At the turn of the defenses, the lawyer Fernando Soto, who represents Isassi, López and Nieva, asked the witness if he had given any television statement after the events. The man replied that he did and Soto requested that an extract of an interview be shown that Connell Farrel gave to a cell phone from the Crónica TV channel. The point of discussion centered, then, on a sentence in which the man indicated that, after intercepting the vehicle, the boys’ Surán accelerated and collided with the Nissan. “Did he take the policeman with car and everything?”Soto wanted to know. “No”ratified the witness, who clarified that “I did not change my version, I remembered and thought about the event well”.
The point is important because the strategy of the three defendants, who at the first trial hearing said they had acted in “self defense“, seems to be aimed at trying to prove that they fired to “repel” an alleged attack by Surán. During the hearing, prosecutor De la Fuente questioned the comparison between testimonies requested by Soto, assuring that only the statements made in judicial frameworks and not in the media. At the end, Dalbón asked the witness if “the event was as reported in this room.” “Yes,” confirmed Connell Farrell.
The testimony of the 33-year-old man is the only one heard during the trial by a eyewitness of the fact not related to the case. Except for Lucas’s three friends, plaintiffs in the process, and the three accused police officers, so far no eyewitness had provided details about that precise moment. other witnesses yes they did about the cover up scene charged to the eleven other police officers who are facing trial. They are inspecting commissioner Daniel Santana –responsible for the entire Comuna 4–, commissioners Juan Romero, Fabián Du Santos and Rodolfo Ozán, sub-commissioners Roberto Inca and Ramón Chocobar, principal Héctor Cuevas, and officers Sebastián Baidón, Jonathan Martinez, Angel Arevalos, Daniel Espinosa. All the agents served in the same commune.
The trial begins to face its final stretch and the complaint considers that, with the testimony of Connell Farrell, “aggravated homicide was proven“. Next Thursday, June 1, the last testimonial hearing is expected, in which witnesses requested by the various defenses of the accused will testify, who They could also ask to expand their inquiries. If that does not happen, the debate will already will enter pleading hearings facing the court ruling that will determine the responsibilities of the 14 defendants for the crime of Lucas, who This Monday he would have turned 19 years old.
