Navy corporal accused in fatal hit-and-run to be held in naval facility

Jonathan Richards, a Chilean Navy corporal facing charges in connection with a fatal hit-and-run incident, will continue to be held in preventive detention. The Valparaíso Court of Appeals granted a defense request to transfer him from a civilian detention center to a naval facility.

Richards was formally charged on July 15 with six counts of negligent homicide. The charges stem from a multiple-vehicle collision he allegedly caused in mid-July at a fair in the Gómez Carreño sector of Viña del Mar. The court initially ordered his detention for the 120-day investigation period.

The defense's successful appeal cited Article 137 of the Military Justice Code, which stipulates that military personnel detained should be held in military facilities. The court's unanimous decision, delivered by judges Rafael Corvalán and María Cruz, along with associate judge Gonzalo Góngora, allows Richards to serve his pre-trial detention in a location deemed more appropriate for a member of the armed forces.