José Pedro gives himself up after 12-days on run
José Pedro, the young gypsy man caught on camera shooting at various members of a rival family outside a Viseu shopping centre just after Christmas, gave himself up yesterday after 12 days ‘on the run’ and has been remanded in preventive custody.
According to reports, he spoke for more than two hours yesterday, in court before a judge, explaining his “version of the facts” that led him to shoot at seven people, killing one and injuring two others.
As Correio da Manhã adds, his “justifications for the gunshots that culminated in the death of ‘Mimi’, aged 44 – shot in the chest – were “poorly founded. And this, combined with the risk of his absconding (again) and continuing with criminal activity” saw the judge remand him in custody.
José Pedro is accused of one murder, six attempted murders, possession of a prohibited weapon and dangerous driving.
As former PJ inspector, and president of the Commission for the Protection of Victims of Crimes, Carlos Anjos, has written, this is the second recent case of a gypsy shooter killing in cold blood and then going on the run.
José Pedro’s surrender had everything to do with “intense negotiations” between police and the two families involved.
“The PJ managed to convince the elders of both families that this was the best way forwards” – particularly as there were so many threats of ‘retaliation in the air’.
This way, the case would be left to ‘justice’, and the personal vendettas that were festering could be put to one side, he said.
However, there is still the issue of family members of ‘Mimi’ who are themselves behind bars.
It will need to be borne in mind, warns Anjos, that José Carlos should not cross paths with these family members. “If this happens, the (intense) negotiations will have been for nothing”.
