Overview
- Prosecutor David Carballo charged Miguel Jorge Mele, 58, with simple homicide, a non-bailable offense carrying a potential 8 to 25 years in prison.
- Mele declined to testify at Monday’s hearing after his private lawyer failed to appear, choosing silence while represented by a public defender.
- Security video and 911 witness calls underpin the case, with authorities stating Mele turned sharply right, forcing Diego Maximiliano Marianache, 46, into a tree where he died at the scene.
- A preliminary examination found no technical faults in the Iveco truck’s steering or systems as investigators seek additional private-camera footage under UFI No. 2 oversight.
- TN reports Mele had a prior violent case from 2010, and prosecutors moved to keep him in preventive custody based on the early expert findings and his background.