Violence in soccer and the bad memory of the murder of Walter Oyarce: How was this case sanctioned in Peru?

What should be a party turns into a tragedy when people outside the sport take over the sports arena for their own purposes. That happened on Saturday night in Querétaro in the duel between the local team and Atlas, when barristas clashed and caused injuries to more than 25 people.

Violence in soccer has become common in various scenarios and Peru is no stranger to it. Remember that in 2019 a match between Alianza and Cristal had to be stopped due to clashes between barristas from both clubs on the outskirts of Matute. Or the almost daily news of confrontations between brave bars in the streets of Lima.

However, the act of violence that is being remembered the most on social networks is that of the murder of Walter Oyarce, an Alianza fan who was thrown from the boxes of the Monumental Stadium by Universitario fans in a 2011 classic.

The incident occurred on the afternoon of September 24, 2011. The following day three suspects in the murder were identified: Marco Antonio Chimoya Asenjo, ‘Chiclayano’, Gian Carlo Díaz Maysa, ‘Ratón’ and David Sánchez-Manrique Pancorvo, ‘Crazy David’while trying to identify ‘Cholo Payet’.

On September 27, David Sánchez-Manrique traveled to Miami and then to New York. The next day he returned to Lima and was arrested. The Police reported that ‘Loco David’ and the ‘Cholo Payet’, Jose Luis Roque AlejosThey were the murderers of Walter Oyarce.

Those mentioned were joined by Richard Valverde Siguentes, ‘Negro Ampilio’, and they were transferred to the Piedras Gordas and Castro Castro prisons.

Witnesses declared that it was David Sánchez-Manrique who threw Oyarce, while the defense argued that the Alianza fan fell without anyone pushing him.

José Ugaz, a lawyer for the Oyarce family, argued that it was an assassination, for which he insisted on a 35-year punishment for murder.

Of 11 denounced in the event, only David Sánchez-Manrique, José Roque Alejos, Richard Valverde Sifuentes, Jorge Montoya and Fabrizio Grillo were in prison. For the last two, between 8 and 12 years in prison were required.

After two years of investigation, on September 11, 2013, the prosecution concluded that it was David Sánchez-Manrique, ‘Loco David’, who pushed Walter Oyarce, nicknamed José Roque Alejos, ‘Cholo’ Payet. A sentence of 35 years and a civil compensation of one million soles were requested.

It was only on November 7, 2013 that the oral trial began, in which David Sánchez-Manrique accused Richard Valverde, ‘Negro Ampilio’, of being guilty of the murder. Protected witnesses directly accused ‘Loco David’ and ‘Cholo Payet’ as the cause of the act.

After 29 months of judicial proceedings, on March 5, 2014, David Sánchez-Manrique Pancorvo ‘Loco David’ and José Luis Roque Alejos ‘Cholo Payet’ were sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Jorge Luis Montoya ‘Caligula’, Fabrizio Grillo ‘Caliche’ and Richard Valverde Sifuentes ‘Negro Ampilio’ were also sentenced despite not being directly involved in the death of Walter Oyarce, for property damage and assault. They were imprisoned between 6 and 8 years.

Around the end of 2015, the defense of David Sánchez-Manrique sought in the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court to reduce the sentence. In March 2016, the Court changed his sentences from aggravated murder to simple murder, for which his sentences became 25 years.

The sentence became 17 years for simple homicide plus eight for riots. It was explained that the victim “observed the progress of the aggressors at all times, was aware of the number of subjects and even their level of aggressiveness. It was not, therefore, an ambush or surprise attack”, so “treachery does not qualify as an aggravating circumstance when the victim has had the opportunity to notice the aggression”.