A brave bid to clear his name and reduce his “impossible” fine came unstuck on Wednesday (December 10) when a Lisbon court actually increased the money “child-killer” GNR agent Hugo Ernano has to pay his victim’s parents.
The Supreme Court of Justice decided the reduction of Ernano’s original fine from €80,000 to €45,000 was too lenient. As the 35-year-old father-of-one sought to see his sentence thrown out entirely, instead he found himself with further costs.
The court ruled that the four-year suspended sentence for accidentally shooting a child during a police chase should stay – but it increased the damages set earlier this year by an appeal court.
A crushed Ernano says he has “no way of paying” the fine, as he is on a very low police wage and his chances of promotion have been scuppered by the notoriety of his case.
“I have spent a lot of money in my defence over the past few years,” he told reporters. “I am a simple GNR agent. My career has been frozen. I don’t have the money to pay this fine.”
Ernano’s only hope now is an appeal his lawyer Ricardo Vieira has lodged with the Constitutional Court.
As readers will recall, this case centres on the death of a 13-year-old boy who was taken along on a burglary by his father.
Ernano was one of two police agents who came upon the thieving and gave chase. The father made off in his car, with his son cowering unseen in the back. Ernano shot at the vehicle. His defence maintained he was aiming at the car’s tyres, but a bump in the road jogged his arm, and the worst possible outcome resulted. Paulo Lourenço was hit by a stray bullet and died before he reached hospital.
Initially, Ernano was sentenced to nine years in prison, but a wave of solidarity throughout the country raised a 9,000-strong petition and began this long appeal that has now hit a new ‘low’.
Judges in Lisbon decided to increase damages in favour of Paulo’s mother. She is now due to receive €44,000 while the father – currently in jail for theft and resisting arrest – is due to receive €11,000.
