Rio Prosecutors Charge Two BOPE Officers in Herus Mendes Killing as Parallel Cases Spur Arrests and Gun Seizures Across Brazil

Overview

• Rio’s Public Ministry filed a criminal denunciation accusing Sgt. Daniel Sousa da Silva and Lt. Felippe Carlos de Souza Martins of qualified homicide and asked the court to suspend them from duty and restrict contacts and travel.
• Charging documents cite body‑camera images that depict Herus Mendes seeking cover with no weapon, note a one‑second gap between a police shout and the shots, and allege the shooter tried to manipulate his camera during the operation.
• Prosecutors attribute command responsibility to the lieutenant for pressing ahead with an incursion near a crowded festa junina, while the Homicide Division’s prior report is disputed for concluding putative self‑defense.
• In Minas Gerais, police probing the death of shooting‑club owner Migiber Filipe Fernandes recovered 56 stolen firearms and detained three suspects as investigators examine a possible link between the theft and the killing.
• Elsewhere, Bahia authorities arrested a suspect wanted since May in the February slaying of businessman Gilberto “Bujão” Chaves, Rio police made a fourth arrest in the dismemberment of a couple in Rio Bonito, a Salvador street sweeper was shot dead at his door under homicide investigation, and a Bahia jury acquitted police officer Diego Kollucha in a separate case.