Rental dispute leaves a man injured as police officer faces gunshot allegation

A dispute over a rental debt turned violent in Presidente Franco on the morning of Sept. 3, leaving a moving worker with a head injury and placing a police officer under accusation over an alleged gunshot.

The incident happened at about 10:30 a.m. outside a home in the Santa Inés neighborhood. The injured man was identified as Carlos Antonio González Verdún. Volunteer firefighters took him to the Presidente Franco District Hospital for treatment.

The dispute involved Lariza Portillo Fernández, who had rented a salon owned by Alcides Villalba González, a first sergeant assigned to the Alto Paraná Investigations Department. The six-month contract runs until October, but Portillo said she notified the owners in writing in June that she wanted to end it. She later sought help from the Fiscalía and obtained an order allowing her to collect her belongings.

Portillo arrived with a lawyer, Nancy Vargas, and moving workers. Portillo said she had paid rent on Aug. 19 and that her next payment was not due until Sept. 19. Rosana Gamarra, the property owner, disputed that account, saying three months of rent remained unpaid. Gamarra said Portillo and the movers attacked her after she questioned the payment, prompting her husband, the police officer, to intervene.

Gamarra said three people attacked her husband and that he drew his firearm, but insisted he did not fire it. During the fight, one mover suffered an apparent blow to the head from the butt of a pistol. Portillo’s complaint, however, alleged that the officer fired a shot. Police seized a black Bull Cherokee 9mm pistol, serial number CP16354, along with a magazine containing eight unfired rounds. The officer also underwent a paraffin test.