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, written on pages 1359 et seq., rectified on April 15 of the same year on page 1508, the 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 suspended for the duration of the sentence, and, additionally, 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 suspended but for a two-year probationary period, as responsible in the capacity of perpetrators 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 event that occurred on March 25, 1987.

Source: Judiciary, June 6, 2016

Court increases sentences for former PDI officials for the application of torture to a detainee in 1987

The Santiago Court of Appeals increased the sentences for six retired members of the Policía de Investigaciones (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 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 to 5 years of imprisonment.

During the investigation phase, the 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 shot him, causing serious injuries that led to 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 fulfill said objective –it continues–, “(…) Vargas Soto, Oroz Díaz, Fernández Navarro, Manríquez Fuentes, and Norambuena Matamala were designated, who on the night of March 24, 1987, received information on the fugitive's whereabouts and set out in search of him 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 put 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 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 violated, since an hour later, during a new round, near 11:00, 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

Former PDI members sentenced for torturing a person to death in 1987

The Supreme Court rejected the cassation appeal against the sentence that convicted members of the civil police for the death of a person that occurred in the Población Santa Julia on March 25, 1987, in Ñuñoa, confirming what was determined by the investigation of Judge Mario Carroza.

These are former PDI members Adrián Vargas Soto, Heriberto Oroz Díaz, Gonzalo Fernández Navarro, David Manríquez Fuentes, and Óscar Norambuena Retamal , who were sentenced to 5 years and one day of imprisonment for the crime of application of torture resulting in the death of Claudio Pino Cortés.

According to the investigation carried out by the human rights investigating judge of the Santiago Court of Appeals, Mario Carroza, it was determined 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 shot him, causing serious injuries that led to 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.

For said objective, Vargas Soto, Oroz Díaz, Fernández Navarro, Manríquez Fuentes, and Norambuena Matamala were designated, who on the night of March 24, 1987, received information on the fugitive's whereabouts and set out in search of him toward the interior of the Población Santa Julia, in the commune of Ñuñoa.

When they found Pino Cortés, they subdued him and put 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 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; 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 violated, since an hour later, during a new round, near 11:00, 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."

Source: resumen.cl, June 8, 2017