Three hundred and sixty-three days after the brutal assassination of left-wing Rio de Janeiro councilor Marielle Franco, investigators believe they finally found their man—or in this case, men. This morning, the city’s Homicide Division and Specialized Organized Crime Unit arrested Ronnie Lessa, 48, and Elcio Vieira de Queiroz, 46 for the murder of Ms. Franco and her driver, Anderson Gomes. As was rumored by the investigation, both men were previously affiliated to the Military Police of Rio de Janeiro.
Mr. Lessa, whom federal prosecutors have identified as the man responsible for carrying out the assassination, is a retired military police sergeant and was decorated by the Rio de Janeiro legislative assembly in 1998 after he lost a leg in a bomb attack on his vehicle. Mr. Queiroz, accused of driving the silver Chevrolet Cobalt used in the ambush of Ms. Franco, was expelled from the corporation in 2016 when he was found guilty of providing illegal security services to an illegal gambling house in Rio de Janeiro.
At 4 am this morning, police arrested both men, as well as performing detailed search operations in the apartments of Messrs. Lessa...
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