Brazilian Guilty in Bomb Attack on Love Rival

José Fernandes do Carmo's face is disfigured from a bomb explosion that left him in a coma for 37 days and half-blind for more than a year. (photo: EthnicNEWz.org, E. A. de Oliveira)

A jury found Joel Lemos guilty of these eight charges:

Lemos’ crimes:

1) Armed assault with intent to kill2) Causing mayhem with intent to maim or disfigure victims or aides3) Assault and battery by means of dangerous weapon4) Malicious explosion - willful use of explosion to unlawfully damage or destroy a property5) Willful placing of explosives near a person or his/her property6) Possession of infernal machine - any device used for endangering life by fire or explosion7 and 8) Two counts of malicious burning of personal property or motor vehicles, worth more than $20.

source:  Eduardo A. de Oliveira, EthnicNEWz.org

A love triangle abruptly interrupted by a bomb explosion shattered the lives of two immigrant families during the Thanksgiving holiday of 2005.

But on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008, a 12-people jury at Woburn Superior Court in Massachusetts found Joel Lemos, a Brazilian who ran a pizzeria, guilty of 8 criminal offenses, including armed assault using an explosive weapon with intent to kill.

A police investigation revealed that Lemos planted an improvised - but "sophisticated" - bomb on the car of José Fernandes do Carmo. The car had been parked at the driveway of his rented home in Somerville, Mass.

Carmo's shoulders, arms and face caught on fire from the bomb explosion. The flames also engulfed the two-family home where Carmo and at least six Brazilian immigrants lived.

Carmo, a construction worker who went by the name of Fernando Araújo, spent 37 days in a coma at Massachusetts General Hospital, in the intensive-care unit. He underwent 10 corrective plastic surgeries, and remained half-blind for more than a year.

Somerville Police said the crime was motivated by a love triangle. Lemos had had a relationship with Cherri Ellis, an American who was the girlfriend of Carmo around the time of the bombing.

Ellis and Carmo worked for Lemos' pizzeria in Somerville. Carmo claims he started dating Ellis four months after Lemos left the US for a trip to Europe.

Carmo, who had forgiven Lemos before the verdict was announced, said he was relieved but felt bad that "Lemos will spend all of his maturity incarcerated."

Lemos is 38 and could spend 20 years in jail. His sentence will be announced on Wednesday, Oct. 29, at 2 p.m.

Lemos' sister, Dina Lima, who has been an American citizen for 14 years, said if her brother was convicted, she would return her passport to the local authorities.

"My family is under pressure, everyone is investigated. Last week, even my daughter was followed by a police officer," said Lima, who works as a hairdresser in Cambridge, Mass.

The case sent shockwaves through the Brazilian community of Somerville, estimated to have Massachusetts' second-largest population of Brazilians in a city or town. The entire state has about 100,000 Brazilian workers, according to some Brazilian authorities

But the ordeal of Carmo did not halt after the bombing. He said his aggressor's bother, Wladimir Lemos began to follow and threaten him weeks after the incident. The police investigated the case, and arrested Wladimir Lemos, who was deported to Brazil eight months later.

"Do you think my brother could have done this by himself? He had help, and she (Ellis) is a suspect," said Wladimir Lemos, in a telephone interview from Brazil at the beginning of the year.

The Trial

Wladimir's allegations coincided with the strategy to his brother's defense.

At the close of Joel Lemos' trial, his lawyer Robert Normandin said "Lemos had moved on [at] the time of the incident. He even had another Brazilian girlfriend."

Speaking in a dramatic tone of voice, Normandin, who is the fourth lawyer appointed to the case, also questioned the police investigation. "If they found enough proof in Lemos' belongings, why did they have to take the finger prints off the Honda Civic [Carmos' car, which had the planted bomb]?"

Admitting that Lemos had spent time in Brazil's Army, Normandin suggested that Ellis could have been involved in the bombing.

"This incident was a tragedy. But it will be an even greater tragedy if you put an innocent man in jail," said Normandin looking directly at the jury.

Somerville Police discovered that the "sophisticated bomb" was glued together with three types of tape: medical, electrical, and regular duct tape. At least one of the three matched the tape found among Lemos' scattered belongings.

Asking to remain anonymous, a local police officer said the "evidences prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Lemos committed the crime."

The testimony of auto mechanic Luis Flores confirmed that days prior to the incident, Lemos had asked him for "tools that open a Honda Civic."

"Tell the police you've spent the night with me, up until 8:30 a.m.," said Thomas O'Reilly, the leading prosecutor, with a subdued tone of voice.

O'Reilly said there's no doubt Lemos had "motive and opportunity to commit the crime." He said Ellis wouldn't have participated in the bombings - weeks before she issued a restraining order against Lemos.

"She helped the victim seconds after the explosion, and there's no evidence to prove she has any knowledge of explosives," he said.

O'Reilly also displayed a piece of the bomb, which carried a small locker. The key to that locker was also found in a keychain Lemos carried with him. Finally, O'Reilly said Lemos told police officers that he took "full responsibility" for the incident. Days later he changed his version, saying he didn't even know Carmo.

The case confirmed its international status when a lawyer was hired by the Assembléia Legislative de Santa Catarina (Legislative House, in Brazil) in an attempt to extradite Lemos to Brazil.

But attorney Osvaldo Agripino Jr., who has knowledge of the case and the extradition attempt, said the move could only work before the trial.

"Now, [all] we can try to do is reach an agreement of prisoners-exchange between the US and Brazil, so Lemos can serve his sentence on Brazilian soil," said Agripino Jr.

But the lawyer says the chances of that happening are slim. The US has many more Brazilian nationals in its jails than Brazil has Americans.

"Now, I just want to move [on] with my life," said Carmo, who gained legal status in the country due to the criminal investigation. He's still waiting for a process that will determine whether or not he can be issued a green card.

"I'm not sure where I will live for the rest of my life. I'd prefer to keep visiting both Brazil and the US," he said.

source:  EthnicNEWz.org