Five men, two of them minors, have been charged with attacking residents with knives, stones, and sticks in the Salta department of Rosario de Lerma during New Year's celebrations. The accused include a 41-year-old man, two 19-year-olds, and two 16-year-olds. They will remain in preventive custody after the prosecutor requested it from the Guarantees Court. According to information from the Salta Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF), accessed by the Argentine News Agency, the prosecutor pressed charges against the three older individuals, considering them co-authors of a triply aggravated robbery for having been committed in a populated area, as part of a group, with weapons, and with the participation of minors (two cases), as well as for damages, aggravated injuries by the concerted action of two or more people, and an attack on authority. The minors, in turn, were accused of a doubly qualified robbery for having been committed in a populated area and as part of a group with weapons, damages, aggravated injuries by the concerted action of two or more people, and an attack on authority. It was also confirmed that a sixth involved party is 15 years old and therefore is not criminally liable and was released. Investigators confirmed that the alleged attackers had confrontations with passers-by on January 1st in the San Rafael, Parque Las Rosas, and San Jorge neighborhoods. An 18-year-old youth was beaten by several individuals who stole a pair of sneakers and his cell phone, while a motorcycle was set on fire. The brawl extended to the police station and the regional hospital, where the groups threw stones and other dangerous objects to intimidate the police, who managed to apprehend six suspects.
