The .38-caliber Russian pistol, used in the robbery of 46-year-old cyclist Vitor Felisberto Medrado, was originally registered to the private security company Guarita Vigilância e Segurança Ltda. The crime occurred on February 13 of this year, in front of Parque do Povo, in the Itaim Bibi neighborhood, less than one kilometer from the company’s headquarters, in the Indianopolis neighborhood, south of São Paulo. The company is no longer active.
A registration document issued on 20 November 1995 shows that the weapon – number AA445450 – was registered with the National Weapons System (SINARM) as being used “for defence” and owned by the surveillance company. According to the Federal Revenue Service, Guarita’s CNPJ was removed and the company officially ceased to exist in 2008. The report did not identify its former directors to comment on the case.
According to the Civil Police, the same gun that killed the cyclist was also used by one of the suspects in Medrado’s death, Eric Benedito Verissimo, during a robbery against an engineer in the southern area of São Paulo, on March 8 of this year. In prison, he admitted to participating in the robbery, according to what the then Minister of Security, Guilherme Diret (PP), said at a press conference.
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Origin of ammunition
Among the ammunition seized from Eric was one from Companhia Brasileira de Cartuchos (CBC). When contacted by the report, the company chose not to inform the security force to which the piece was eventually sold.
For Bruno Langani, project director at the Sue da Paz Institute, this case reinforces a historical cycle of legal weapons ending up being turned into crime:
“This finding, unfortunately, is not surprising. Once again, it reveals that guns and ammunition on the legal market end up, systematically, in the hands of crime. The private security sector, in particular, has emerged for decades as a relevant source for these diversions – which is particularly troubling, given that these companies thrive precisely on the sense of insecurity that this type of diversion helps to fuel. The Congressional Arms Trafficking Consumer Price Index (2006) and ALERJ (2016) have already exposed “There are worrying numbers about the losses and deviations recorded in this sector.”
According to Langani, a survey conducted by the institute shows that the majority of leaked weapons are seized near their place of origin. “In 32% of the cases analyzed, the weapon was confiscated up to 10 kilometers from its diversion site. This data is a strong indicator that strict control of the legal arms market, at the local level, can have a direct impact on reducing gun violence in the same area.”
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The expert also stated that the cases of the cyclist and the engineer, targeted for the same previously legal handgun, highlight structural flaws in gun control policy. “The weapon used was manufactured and sold legally 30 years ago, and there is no record of how many crimes he may have been involved in before it was used against Vitor. What is more serious: even after this operation and other seizures – including with the ringleader dubbed the ‘Paraisopolis crime boss’ – there was no clear effort on the part of the police to trace the source of these weapons.”
Pheasant
Vitor Felisberto Medrado was a cyclist and sports coach. He was 46 and owned a sports consulting company focused on cycling. Many of his students trained at Parque do Povo.
Vitor was a Ribeirão Preto team athlete and won the gold medal at the 2013 SP Regional Games in the team speed event.
On social media, friends mourned Vitor’s death: “You were an excellent professional, and from what little I know, an excellent human being as well,” one wrote. Another comment speaks about the coach’s behavior: “Without believing Vitao, his arrogant and unique way will never be forgotten, good people.”
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