Group that includes Ribeirão Pires Security Secretary divides stolen merchandise The Superior Court of Justice (STJ) rejected the appeals filed by the former Secretary of Public Security of Ribeirão Pires, Sandro Torres Amante, by the former chief inspector of the Municipal Civil Guard (GCM) Gutembergue Martins Silva, and by general assistant Marcelo Cruz Dellavali, and maintained the trio's convictions for thefts in two butcher shops in the ABC Paulista city. The decision was signed by Justice Maria Marluce Caldas on Friday (19) and published in the Official Gazette of Justice this Monday (22). For the justice, the defense appeals requested a new analysis of the case evidence, which is not permitted in this type of appeal, and the conviction imposed by the TJ-SP followed the understanding already adopted by the STJ in similar cases (read more below). In 2025, the TJ-SP had sentenced the three to 2 years and 11 months in prison, in an initial semi-open regime, for the crime of qualified theft.
The São Paulo court also decreed the loss of the public offices held by Sandro and Gutembergue, both municipal civil guards. According to the Public Prosecutor's Office complaint, the thefts occurred in the early hours of June 18, 2018, when Sandro was sub-commander of the GCM of Ribeirão Pires. In a few minutes, the group allegedly took almost 60 kilos of meat, R$ 28,000 in cash, checks, surveillance cameras, and monitoring equipment from two butcher shops located in the city center (read more below). Secretary of Security of Ribeirão Pires, convicted of theft from butcher shops Reproduction In the appeals to the STJ, the defenses argued, among other points, that there was a breach in the chain of custody of the monitoring images used as evidence, that the recordings did not undergo forensic analysis, and that there were not enough elements for the convictions. The justice, however, stated that the lower courts recognized the authenticity of the images and that no concrete indications of manipulation or tampering with the material were pointed out.
According to the decision, the recordings were corroborated by testimonies, other elements produced during the investigation, and the defendants' own statements. The rapporteur also highlighted that the defenses had access to the images and were able to contest them throughout the process, without demonstrating concrete procedural prejudice. Therefore, she understood that there was no violation of the rules for preserving evidence provided for in the Code of Criminal Procedure. In another part of the decision, the justice stated that the TJ-SP pointed out the existence of coordinated action and division of tasks among the defendants and that reviewing this conclusion would require a new examination of the set of evidence, which is not permitted in a special appeal. The name of Sandro Torres Amante also appears in an investigation into an alleged criminal organization within the Municipal Civil Guard of Ribeirão Pires.
According to the case prosecutor, the former secretary would continue to exert influence over the corporation and would be pointed out as the leader of an alleged militia formed within the guard (read more below). Secretary of Security of Ribeirão Pires, in Greater SP, is convicted of theft Reproduction/ TV Globo Remember the case According to the Public Prosecutor's Office complaint, the thefts occurred in the early hours of June 18, 2018, when Sandro was sub-commander of the GCM of Ribeirão Pires. In a few minutes, the group allegedly took almost 60 kilos of meat, R$ 28,000 in cash, checks, surveillance cameras, and monitoring equipment from two butcher shops located in the city center. The investigations indicated that the municipality's monitoring cameras were intentionally repositioned so as not to frame the establishments and that a false report led GCM and Military Police teams to move to another region of the city, facilitating the crimes. A protected witness put some of the cameras back in their original position and the images recorded the defendants dividing the stolen merchandise.
The videos and vehicle tracking were considered central pieces of the investigation. After reports by g1 and TV Globo revealed the conviction, Sandro requested his resignation from the position of Secretary of Public Security of Ribeirão Pires in April of this year. At the time, he claimed to be innocent and said he had left the position to preserve the work of the Municipal Guard. g1 is trying to contact the defense of the three convicted men. Alleged militia In parallel to the theft case, the Public Prosecutor's Office of São Paulo is investigating an alleged criminal organization within the Municipal Civil Guard of Ribeirão Pires.
Last week, the Federal Police canceled the functional weapon carry permit of the city's 114 guards after pointing out serious failures in internal control and oversight of the corporation. According to the MP, at least 20 guards testified reporting cases of harassment and irregularities in the corporation. In an order obtained by g1, prosecutor Jonathan Vieira de Azevedo stated that there are indications of "organized criminal activity" in the GCM. The name of Sandro Torres Amante appears in the investigations.
According to the prosecutor, testimonies from guards indicate that the former secretary would continue to exert influence over the corporation and would be pointed out as the leader of an alleged militia formed within the GCM. The suspicions, however, are still the subject of investigation and have not resulted in a complaint or conviction.
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