A Lavallois acquitted the murder of a man shot down behind his head in a pizzeria crowded from the Dix30 will have to undergo a new trial.
• Read also: Murder in a pizzeria of the dix30: acquitted of having killed a client in a restaurant
On May 10, 2019, a man introduced himself to the Sofia Cagulé restaurant, walking with a sure step. Without hesitation, he had brandished his concealed weapon in a plastic bag and had shot at close range on Éric Francis de Souza.
The 24 -year -old victim had been killed in front of his friends attacked alongside him, as well as customers and employees of the restaurant.
The shooter had only remained eight seconds on the scene before fleeing.
Joshua Sarroino had been arrested almost three years later. He underwent his trial for murder premeditated in 2023.
According to the theory of prosecution, after the murder, the assassin had quickly got rid of his weapon, had taken place in a white car, which was found burned soon after.
Identity
Investigators had found traces of fingerprints as well as DNA on conviction pieces. And according to experts, this made it possible to link them to Sarroino, thus leading to the arrest of man.
But the face of the assassin has never been seen by the dix30 surveillance cameras. The identity of the accused was thus the main element of the trial.
And the jury had not been convinced of the guilt of the accused, who had been acquitted.
The public prosecutor had challenged this verdict. The Court of Appeal has just decided and ordered a new trial for the 31 -year -old man.
Indeed, the trial judge, Pierre Labrie, had given a precise directive as to the physical description of the shooter.
The jurors had to pronounce an acquittal verdict if they concluded that the shooter was blond.
Two witnesses had testified in this sense.
Prohibited weapons
According to the judges of the Court of Appeal, it is not unreasonable to presume that the jury had such a reasonable doubt about the color of the hair.
And it is also possible that the jurors thus ignored the other elements of incriminating circumstantial evidence.
Barely a month after his acquittal, Joshua Sarroino was sent to prison for possession of prohibited weapons.
The police had found a busy Glock 22 and a Kahr PM9 at his home.
Sarroino is also awaiting his trial for finding himself in a vehicle, knowing that a firearm was there. He was in particular in the company of the Pietro’s mafia of Adamo.
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