Ronnie Lessa's plea bargain will be evaluated by the STF in the case of Marielle Franco

The case of the murder of councilor Marielle Franco gained another chapter this Friday (15). Sources from the Court declared to the O Globo newspaper's blog that the accusation made by former military police officer Ronnie Lessa was left from the Supreme Court of Justice (STJ) for evaluation by the Federal Supreme Court (STF).

Indicated as the author of the shots that killed the councilor and driver Anderson Gomes in March 2018, Lessa was expelled from the PM and sentenced, three years later, to an initial sentence of 4 and a half years in prison for hiding the weapons used in the crime. The sentence was later increased to 5 years.

If Lessa's plea is approved by the STF, it will be the second in the Marielle case. The first was that of former PM Élcio de Queiroz, who explained in detail the dynamics of the crime and pointed out the participation of former firefighter Maxwell Simões Corrêa, known as Suel. According to Queiroz, Suel was the person responsible for watching Marielle and getting rid of the car used on the night of the murder.

Suel was arrested in July 2023 during an operation following the ex-PM's indictment.

Six years without answers

The murder of Marielle and Anderson completed six years this Thursday (14). On the night of March 14, 2018, the councilor, the driver and advisor Fernanda Chaves were on their way to Tijuca, a neighborhood in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro. When the vehicle they were in passed Estácio, another car pulled up and shot at the trio. Only Fernanda survived, Marielle and Anderson died instantly.

So far, four suspects are arrested, but there is still no information about the person who ordered the crime or the motivation for the crime.

In addition to Lessa, Queiroz and Suel, the Federal Police arrested Edilson Barbosa dos Santos, better known as Orelha, who allegedly helped in the “dumping” of the vehicle used by the murderers.

_{The suspects in the Marielle case who were killed during the investigation (Photo: Reproduction/G1)}

Suspects killed during investigation

Since the investigation began, five suspects have been killed.

Edmilson da Silva de Oliveira, known as Macalé, former Military Police sergeant and also named in Queiroz's complaint, was shot dead while walking towards his vehicle, in November 2021.

Former captain of the Special Police Operations Battalion (BOPE) Adriano Magalhães da Nóbrega was killed in an exchange of fire with BOPE in Bahia in February 2020, after being on the run for around a year. Adriano had an arrest warrant issued the previous year and was accused of being part of the oldest militia in Rio de Janeiro.

Second Sergeant Luiz Carlos Felipe Martins was killed in March 2021 by shots fired inside a car, while the PM was on the street. Martins was appointed as the right-hand man and manager of Adriano's estate.

Investigated in Marielle and Anderson's investigation, Hélio de Paulo Ferreira, the “Lord of Arms”, was in a bakery when he was executed in February 2023. In addition to Hélio, three other people were killed.

Lucas do Prado Nascimento da Silva, aka Toddynho, was killed in 2019 during an ambush on Avenida Brasil, as an alleged file burning. Lucas was suspected of having played a role in cloning the car used in the execution of Marielle and Anderson, by falsifying the vehicle's documents.

Featured Photo: Ronnie Lessa, named as the author of the shots that killed the councilwoman and the driver (Reproduction/G1)