The Public Prosecution Service demanded a 22-year prison sentence at the court in Breda on Friday against 42-year-old Tilburg resident Javier L., who is suspected of the murder of fellow citizen Ludson S. in 2022. The fatal shooting was captured by surveillance cameras. S. is a brother of Ludgardo S., who, according to the Public Prosecution Service, was involved in coordinating the filming of Peter R. de Vries when he was shot.
The shooting, in which Javier L. fired several bullets at close range at the victim, took place on December 21, 2022 at 6 p.m. at a gas station on Ringbaan-Oost in Tilburg. Several bystanders were in the area at that time.
“This image, which several people saw, must have been very traumatic and they can count themselves lucky that they were not hit by flying bullets,” the officer said on Friday during the substantive hearing of the case in the Breda court. ‘The offense evokes great feelings of insecurity in society in a broader sense. The Public Prosecution Service takes this very seriously.’
Argument at funeral service
The suspect and the victim were known to each other. Earlier that day they had an argument during a funeral service of rapper Boechi in the Willem II stadium. The conflict is said to be related to a collision that occurred in the past.
Gas station
The two met again on the Ringbaan-Oost on December 21. Javier L. and some friends were at the gas station, where Ludson “Lucho” S. arrived with two others – including his brother Ludgardo. The brother got out first. When he saw that the suspect had a loaded firearm in his belt, he took off running. The suspect went after it, but then chose the 37-year-old Tilburger as the target when he also got out of the car.
Seven bullets
CCTV footage from the gas station shows how the suspect fired seven bullets and the victim fell to the ground. And that he pulled the trigger again and shot the Tilburger in the head at close range. Examination by the pathologist and forensics showed that the last two shots were fatal.
The Public Prosecution Service assumes murder because the suspect deliberately had a firearm in his pocket and stated that he would not wait in a confrontation and would shoot first. According to the officer, this is also supported by the camera images that show the suspect immediately launching the attack.
Looking for confrontation
‘The impression has emerged that it was not a coincidental meeting for the suspect. He sought confrontation himself and continued to run after the brothers, did not deviate from his plan, but merely shifted the focus to the other brother,” the officer said.
According to the Public Prosecution Service, there was no emergency situation at the time of the shooting at the gas station and he could have changed his mind after the victim was on the ground. ‘From the firing of the fatal shots, the Public Prosecution Service concludes that the suspect has completed his plan. We rarely see it so unprecedentedly cold and raw on moving images. “I cannot express it in any other way than that the suspect executed the victim at close range,” the officer said.
The court will make its ruling on March 22.
Also see:
‘Court wants further investigation into Tilburg shooting’
