Mall Marina de Viña del Mar confirmed that it is evaluating legal actions to collaborate in the arrest and prosecution of the minors accused of being responsible for the wave of assaults carried out in the vicinity of Plaza O’Higgins and the shopping center. Antecedents of the investigation maintain that the gang is made up of 10 to 12 minors between the ages of 13 and 17.
Through his legal team, Mall Marina He confirmed that he is evaluating the “most effective” legal actions to contribute to the arrest of those responsible for the wave of assaults that have occurred in the Viña del Mar commune, Valparaíso region.
Police records report a total of 20 people arrested -in 20 days- for links to crimes committed in the vicinity of Plaza O’Higgins and Mall Marina.
The alleged perpetrators range from 13 and 17 years old, who were released. The mayoress of Viña del Mar, Macarena Ripamonti, questioned the system.
“It allows many people to be apprehended, with highly coordinated work by the Carabineros and the municipality of Viña del Mar, and that they are released following a few hours (…) It just makes us have a lot of mixed feelings”he stated.
“Systematic attack”
For his part, the Mall Marina lawyer, Juan Carlos Manríquez, defined the operations of this criminal gang as a “systematic attack”. This, as established, It is made up of at least 10 or 12 minors.
Thus, the shopping center confirmed that they are evaluating legal actions. The objective? “Contribute to stop, prosecute and end the systematic attack of this gang of organized minors who assault the area,” said Manríquez.
With regard to the freedom of the defendants, the lawyer Francisca Castro – who belongs to the firm Castro Asociados – explained the difficulties of the Public Ministry to request the provisional internment of adolescents allegedly responsible for crimes such as robberies with intimidation or violence.
“The penalty by law drops one degree. In a robbery with intimidation, the sentence would no longer start from five years and one day, but from three years and one day. We are no longer talking regarding a crime with criminal penalties, ”he explained.
The latest arrests that the Carabineros have reported in this area refer to: surprise robberies, current orders, possession of a knife, in addition to accounting for regarding 140 identity checks.
