Rio Grande man sentenced to 23 years for killing snack bar owner

A man has been sentenced to 23 years in prison for the December 2024 murder of Willy Mendes, a 31-year-old snack bar owner in Rio Grande, Brazil. The conviction was handed down by a jury on Monday, August 11.

The crime was motivated by a dispute regarding customers' vehicles parking in front of the defendant's garage near the Cidade Nova neighborhood. According to the prosecution, the defendant called Mendes outside his establishment, Xis do Braga, where a heated argument led to the fatal shooting.

The court applied several aggravating factors, including futile motive, common danger due to the shooting occurring on a public street, and the use of resources that hindered the victim's defense. In addition to the homicide sentence, the defendant received one year of detention for illegal possession of ammunition. The defendant had been in custody since the incident occurred.