The man identified by Rio de Janeiro's Civil Police as the coordinator of the street security group involved in the lynching of Cláudio Rafael Landeiro in Copacabana has 14 entries on his criminal record, according to G1. Aluisio da Silva Filho gave a statement on Wednesday afternoon (Aug 26) at the 12th Police Precinct, the Copacabana station leading the inquiry. His record includes threat, bodily injury, illegal firearm possession and the robbery of a tourist in the neighborhood. Aluisio is not under arrest and was heard as a suspect under investigation, which preserves the presumption of innocence.

Cláudio Rafael, 37, was beaten on the night of August 11 after being falsely accused of stealing a bicycle that actually belonged to his sister. Taken to Miguel Couto Municipal Hospital in Gávea, he died on August 12. According to Folha, the victim was struck more than 60 times, and the wooden club used in the attack was fetched by security guard Davi Santos Machado from a bar on Barata Ribeiro street.

Case timeline

• August 11: Cláudio Rafael is accused of theft and attacked by street guards and delivery workers in Copacabana; part of the beating is filmed.
• August 12: he dies at Miguel Couto Municipal Hospital.
• August 20: guard Davi Santos Machado is arrested in Mesquita; guard Jorge Luiz Ricardo Dias, 56, turns himself in at the precinct.
• August 21: delivery workers Felipe Eduardo dos Santos and Ailton José da Silva are located and arrested, according to CNN Brasil.
• August 25: police hear five people, including the owners of a bar, a restaurant and a pharmacy that paid for the group's services.
• August 26: Aluisio testifies, and police disclose his 14 criminal record entries.

In his statement, Aluisio gave his own account. He said he has coordinated for more than 25 years a support group operating near Barata Ribeiro and Felipe de Oliveira streets, with no registered company (CNPJ) and four members, counting himself and the two jailed guards. According to him, the members do not call themselves "security guards" but "supporters", and were not authorized to approach or follow suspicious people, stop them from leaving a place, search them or seize objects. The standing instruction, he said, was to call 190, Brazil's police emergency number, in serious incidents, without using physical force. Aluisio also said he learned of Cláudio's death days later, that a witness reported a request for silence made by Davi, and that the employee denied involvement. He admitted having received complaints about Davi's aggressive behavior, including the beating of a homeless man. TV Globo tried to reach Aluisio's defense without success by the story's last update.

The investigation tells a different side. Merchants from a bar, a restaurant and a pharmacy confirmed in testimony, according to Folha, that they paid for the irregular private security provided by Davi and Jorge, and are being investigated for possible contribution to the clandestine surveillance scheme; the bar owner's son is investigated for failure to render aid. Jorge, when surrendering, confessed to taking part in the approach and said he witnessed part of the beating, according to CNN Brasil. The four detainees, two guards and two delivery workers, face charges of triple-qualified homicide, a heinous crime under Brazilian law.

The case exposed the work of irregular vigilantes in Rio's South Zone. Private security industry associations, meeting in Brasília on Tuesday (Aug 25), demanded stricter oversight from the Federal Police, the body that licenses surveillance companies, Folha reported. The inquiry's next step is the capture of the fifth aggressor, seen on camera kicking the victim's head: according to O Dia, the Rio State Court has issued an arrest warrant for Wellington Luiz Santos de Souza, identified by police as the man who delivered the kicks. Aluisio's testimony will be added to the investigation at the 12th Precinct, which has not announced a deadline for its conclusion.