Guilherme Derrite accused of hindering arrest in Gritzbach murder case

Guilherme Derrite, the former Secretary of Public Security for São Paulo, is accused by sources of inadvertently preventing the arrest of Kauê Amaral Coelho, a suspect in the murder of broker Antônio Vinícius Gritzbach.

On November 19, 2024, Derrite held a press conference where he publicly disclosed Coelho’s name and photograph. According to investigative sources, this exposure compromised a strategic plan by the Civil Police to apprehend the suspect as he traveled from Rio de Janeiro to São Paulo. The judiciary had already issued a temporary arrest warrant for Coelho on November 15.

Coelho is suspected of acting as a lookout during the assassination of Gritzbach at Guarulhos International Airport on November 8, 2024. Following the public disclosure, police shifted their tactics to using drones to monitor Coelho in the Vila Cruzeiro area of Rio de Janeiro, but the suspect remains at large.