On January 29, a jury in Vila Real begins trying a man on suspicion of killing his brother after an argument in Vila Poca de Aguiar, a judicial source said on Wednesday.
The prosecutor’s office (MP) accuses the defendant of qualified murder and possession of a prohibited weapon.
The case dates back to February 26, 2023, took place in the parish of Vila Pouca de Aguiar in the district of Vila Real, and the suspect, a farmer who was 47 years old at the time, was detained by the judicial police.
The deputy found it sufficiently charged that a man, after an argument with his 58-year-old brother, with whom he had disagreements over land and livestock issues, went into his home and there armed himself with a shotgun-type firearm.
“He then returned to his brother, approached him, pointed a gun at his body and fired a shot, which resulted in abdominal injuries that led to his death,” said the indictment published by the regional prosecutor general’s office in Porto.
According to the deputy, in addition to these weapons, the accused kept 22 rounds of 12-gauge ammunition at his home, without having a license to use or carry weapons, nor to store weapons at home, nor permission to purchase them for this purpose.
The suspect is awaiting trial in a pre-trial detention center.
A source in the Vila Real court told Lusa this Wednesday that the case will be tried by jury and will begin on January 29, 2024.
It is a court consisting of three career judges, four jurors and four alternates, chosen by lot from the electoral rolls in the territory of the competent court, and must be under 65 years of age, have compulsory education, and be free from disease. or conditions that make it impossible to perform their duties and who are not detained, imprisoned or sentenced to imprisonment for more than five years.
It can be requested by prosecutors, deputies or defendants, handles cases in which the maximum penalty for crimes exceeds eight years’ imprisonment, and leaves aside high-level and white-collar crime, focusing on “blood crimes.”
Not all cases can be tried by a jury as certain legal requirements must be met in order for them to be viable.
The jury decision in the Portuguese court system is made jointly by three judges and four sitting jurors, who represent the majority in this model and rule only in criminal cases (without jurisdiction in civil cases), determining the fine to be applied.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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