Brazilian Gets 40 Years for Bomb Attack on Compatriot

Joel Lemos enters Woburn Superior Courtroom. Family members said he was walking with crutches because of a minor accident in the prison kitchen. (photo: E. A. de Oliveira, EthnicNEWz.org)

A judge at Woburn Superior Court in Massachusetts sentenced Joel Lemos to 40 years in a prison for the bomb attack on fellow Brazilian Jose Fernandes do Carmo.  

The attack left Carmo in a coma for 37 days and half-blind for about six months.

Lemos, a Brazilian who used to own a pizzeria where Carmo worked, was accused of planting a bomb on Carmo's car in Somerville, Mass, in 2005.  The bomb exploded after Carmo entered the car.

After the sentencing, Carmo said he would “finally be able to celebrate.” In his impact statement, Carmo said his life "will never be the same, his mother has insomnia in Brazil, and he cannot trust anyone anymore.”

“Lemos should not have the right to return to society, because he is a threat not only to me but the whole society,” he said in his final note.

Somerville police investigated the bomb attack as part of a love triangle. Around the time of the bombing, Lemos had a relationship with Cheri Ellis, who was Carmo's girlfriend and also worked at Lemos' pizzeria. 

In her final statement, Ellis said that “panic and paranoia took charge of my being. I started to sleep close to a radio provided by the police”.

“Lemos entered my home, the USA, to disturb my family’s and friends’ lives,” she said. 

State prosecutor Thomas O’Reilly started his final presentation, saying “Lemos is a coward."

“If it wasn’t for the crime scene’s proximity to a major hospital (Massachusetts General Hospital) and the willingness of Fernando [sic] to live, today we’d be judging a first-degree murder,” he said.

O’Reilly requested the state to sentence Lemos to 36 years in prison, “for Carmo to have some peace.”

Defense attorney Robert Normandin said in similar cases, Massachusetts laws recommend a punishment of 16 to 90 months.  

“There’s no doubt this case is a tragedy, but Lemos maintains his innocence," Normandin said. 

He appealed to the judge to consider Lemos’ responsibilities as a parent of an 11-year-old boy, whom he has not seen in years.

“For the sake of Lemos, his family and his son, I ask the state to sentence him to eight to 10 years in prison, with deportation following it,” Normandin said. 

But Lemos was sentenced to two 20-year sentences, for “armed assault with intent to kill” and “causing mayhem with intent to maim or disfigure victims or aides.”

“The sentence was too harsh,” said Osvaldo Agripino Jr., an attorney hired by Brazilian authorities to try to get Lemos extradited.

“We would never see such a harsh punishment applied to an American citizen tried in Brazil,” he said.

With the maximum prison sentence of 30 years in Brazil, Agripino admits that Lemos’ 40-year sentence poses a new obstacle in his attempt to have Lemos transferred to a prison in Brazil.

Dina Lima, Lemos’ only sister in the US, said that “truth wasn’t served here today.”

“If they only ordered a cerebral exam, they would conclude my brother could not have constructed that bomb,” she said.

In addition to his 40-year prison sentence, Lemos is prohibited from directly or indirectly contacting Carmo, his family or his friends. If the order is breached, Lemos' sentence could be increased. On the other hand, his sentence could be shortened to 36 years if he demonstrates good behavior as an inmate.

“To the politicians who supported Lemos’ family, I just wanted to say I have a family, too. And you ignored them,” said Carmo.

source:  EthnicNEWz.org.

SEE ALSO:  Brazilian Found Guilty of Bomb Attack on Love Rival