Case No. 554-2011 - Homicide of Claudio Patricio Pino Cortés

Having reviewed: In these proceedings, Case No. 554-2011 of the 34th Criminal Court of Santiago, by judgment of February 24, 2016, recorded on pages 1359 et seq., rectified on April 15 of the same year on page 1508, the Special Investigating Judge Mario Carroza Espinoza sentenced Adrián Segundo Vargas Soto to a penalty of three years of minor imprisonment in its medium degree, which was remitted for the duration of the sentence, and, furthermore, the accused Heriberto Adolfo Oroz Díaz , Gonzalo Reinaldo Fernández Navarro , David Waldemar Manríquez Fuentes , and Oscar Hernán Norambuena Retamal , who were sentenced to a penalty of five hundred and forty-one days of minor imprisonment in its medium degree, which was also remitted but subject to a two-year period of supervision, as responsible in the capacity of authors of the crime of application of torture resulting in death committed against the person of Claudio Patricio Pino Cortés , as provided for in Article 150 No. 1 of the Penal Code, in relation to Article 391 No. 2 of the same code, an act that occurred on March 25, 1987.

Source: Judiciary, June 6, 2016

Court increases sentences for former PDI officers for the application of torture to a detainee in 1987 The Santiago Court of Appeals increased the sentences for six retired members of the Investigative Police (PDI) for their responsibility in the crime of application of torture against Claudio Pino Cortés, an illicit act perpetrated on March 25, 1987, in the commune of Ñuñoa.

In a split decision, the Fifth Chamber of the appellate court sentenced to 5 years of imprisonment the former sub-commissioner Adrián Segundo Vargas, the former inspector Heriberto Adolfo Oroz Díaz, and the former detectives Gonzalo Reinaldo Fernández Navarro, David Waldemar Manríquez Fuentes, and Óscar Hernán Norambuena Retamal.

During the investigation stage, the special investigating judge Mario Carroza was able to establish that “(…) one day before the victim's detention, the Eighth Judicial Precinct was carrying out a procedure regarding a robbery crime.

One of the perpetrators, upon being detained, wounded one of the police officers, who fired at him, causing serious injuries that resulted in his death. Meanwhile, the other participant, identified as Claudio Pino Cortés, managed to flee .

Due to this, an operation was ordered to locate the fugitive, who had a pending arrest warrant for the crime of homicide that occurred on September 22, 1986, a date on which Pino Cortés was deprived of liberty by the Military Prosecutor's Office, but which was used as a pretext to carry out the mission.” To achieve said objective –it continues–, “(…) Vargas Soto, Oroz Díaz, Fernández Navarro, Manríquez Fuentes, and Norambuena Matamala were designated, who on March 24, 1987, during the night hours, received information on the fugitive's whereabouts and went out in search of him, heading toward the interior of the Población Santa Julia, in the commune of Ñuñoa,” the ruling maintains. “When they found Pino Cortés, they subdued him and placed him in the trunk of the police vehicle, then transported him to the Unit, but did not book him immediately; instead, they only did so at 09:00 hours the following day, having previously subjected him to mistreatment throughout the night, with multiple traumatic injuries subsequently being confirmed, despite which his captors and those responsible for his life and personal integrity decided not to take him to a medical facility and kept him locked up in that state in a cell,” it adds. “As a consequence of this illicit conduct by the police officers, the duty of custody that the State has over detainees and as guarantor of their life and bodily integrity has been transgressed, since an hour later, during a new round, around 11:00 hours, when the detainee was called by the Duty Officer, he did not respond, so he decided to enter the cell to see what was happening, realizing that Claudio Patricio Pino Cortés was lifeless , as a result of the multiple injuries inflicted upon him during the detention, according to what was expressed in medical reports and the testimony of the forensic expert,” it explains. In the civil aspect, the appellate court confirmed the resolution ordering the State of Chile to pay $30,000,000, for moral damages, to each of the victim's siblings who were plaintiffs: Marcela del Carmen, Enrique Germán, Zulema de las Mercedes, Guillermo Alejandro, Gabriela Natalia, María Luz, and Cecilia Palmira Pino Cortés.

Source: biobiochile.cl, September 12, 2016