Detention of a teenager for the robbery of former judge Makintach's brother in San Isidro

A 14-year-old teenager was detained near the La Cava slum, in Beccar, San Isidro district, for his alleged connection to the robbery suffered by Tomás Makintach, brother of former judge Julieta Makintach. The information comes from investigation sources cited by La Nación, which also indicated that the suspect allegedly used the victim’s phone to request a car through a ride-hailing app. Crónica does not report that detention or the use of the phone: its article focuses on the assault and the graffiti.

The assault in the Ovejitas I complex

According to La Nación, the incident occurred in the early hours of last Sunday in the Ovejitas I gated community, in Beccar. The victim, a 47-year-old lawyer, was sleeping when three people burst into his house. Sources cited by both outlets indicate that they threatened him with a weapon, demanded money and took 1,000 dollars, a game console and a cell phone. They also forced him to transfer 800,000 pesos.

La Nación adds that the assailants found Makintach’s Italian passport and told him: «We know you have money. Pato Ferrari sold you out. We know you have 60 grand in your house.» Crónica reproduces a similar phrase: «We know you have money, El ‘Pato’ Ferrari sold you out, we know you have 60 grand in the house.» Both versions attribute the mention to Patricio Ferrari, deputy general prosecutor of San Isidro. Neither source identifies who said that phrase nor provides evidence of the judicial official’s alleged connection.

Before escaping, the assailants left graffiti on a wall: «La banda del Millón. Nano,» as both outlets report. La Nación specifies that the message was written with a marker they asked the victim for; Crónica indicates that it was discovered by the Buenos Aires Province Police during the subsequent forensic examinations. La Nación mentions La banda del Millón as a criminal organization to which two homicides in San Isidro are attributed, a detail that Crónica does not reproduce.

The detention and doubts about participation

La Nación reported that the teenager was detained that night by Buenos Aires Province Police personnel along with two other young people who, in principle, would not be connected to the robbery. The outlet cited sources from the case: «Now it must be determined whether the detained teenager participated in the robbery or received the phone from the thieves.» The detention does not imply a conviction nor confirm the material authorship of the assault.

Crónica does not report the detention. Its article focuses on the intimidating message and on the investigation by prosecutor Carolina Asprella, who coordinates the proceedings to identify those responsible for the graffiti and reconstruct the group’s actions. La Nación also mentions Asprella as responsible for the investigation, with the collaboration of Buenos Aires Province Police detectives.

The municipal reaction and access to the gated community

La Nación adds an element that does not appear in Crónica: the Municipality of San Isidro asked the Buenos Aires provincial Ministry of Security to sanction and disqualify the private security company that works in the Ovejitas I complex for «preventing the entry of police personnel» into the gated neighborhood. According to the municipal statement cited by the newspaper, the measure was adopted after the robbery with deprivation of liberty that occurred in the early hours of Sunday, October 18, in the jurisdiction of the 11th Police Station of San Isidro. The municipality filed a criminal complaint for resistance or disobedience to a public official and for helping to evade the action of the authorities.

The municipal statement, always according to La Nación, recounts that the events began around 2:30 a.m., when a neighbor on Ernesto de las Carreras Street at 2100 alerted about noises on the roofs. A Municipal Patrol vehicle and the Buenos Aires provincial police Patrol Command carried out a lockdown operation on the block and checked neighboring homes. There they found a bag with a crowbar. Suspecting that the perpetrators might have entered the gated community, the police requested authorization to inspect it, but the private security denied access. The robbery at Makintach’s house occurred afterward. It is suspected that they may have been the same thieves the neighbor warned were walking on the roofs.

Crónica does not mention this municipal complaint or the episode of denied access. La Nación also states that Makintach did not allow Scientific Police experts to work in his house and that traces were lifted from the Ford Kuga pickup truck, but the prints belonged to the lawyer. Crónica does not include these details.

Chronology of the documented events

1. Early hours of Sunday, October 18: a neighbor on Ernesto de las Carreras Street at 2100 alerts about noises on the roofs. The police carry out a lockdown operation and find a bag with a crowbar. They request permission to enter the Ovejitas I gated community, but private security prevents it, according to the municipal statement cited by La Nación.
2. That same early morning: three assailants burst into Tomás Makintach’s house, in the Ovejitas I neighborhood. They threaten him with a weapon, demand money, take 1,000 dollars, a game console and a cell phone, and force him to transfer 800,000 pesos. Before fleeing, they leave the graffiti «La banda del Millón. Nano» on a wall, according to both outlets.
3. Tuesday, October 20: the Municipality of San Isidro formally files a criminal complaint for resistance or disobedience to a public official and for helping to evade the action of the authorities, and asks the Buenos Aires provincial Ministry of Security to sanction and disqualify the complex’s private security company, according to La Nación.
4. Night of Tuesday, October 20: a 14-year-old teenager is detained near the La Cava slum, in Beccar, for his alleged connection to the robbery. La Nación reports that he allegedly used the victim’s phone to request a car through a ride-hailing app. Sources from the case clarify that it remains to be determined whether he participated in the assault or received the phone.

Between the first and second milestones there is no official confirmation about the identity of the perpetrators or about the relationship between the bag found and the assault. Between the second and third, the new development is the municipal complaint over the actions of the private security. Between the third and fourth, the central change is the detention of the teenager, which is not reported by Crónica.

What data should be followed

The judicial case led by prosecutor Carolina Asprella must determine whether the detained teenager materially participated in the robbery or whether he received the phone from the assailants, as the sources cited by La Nación warned. The outcome of the criminal complaint filed by the Municipality of San Isidro against the private security company also remains to be known, as does whether the Buenos Aires provincial Ministry of Security decides on the requested sanction and disqualification. On the other hand, there is no public information about the identity of the other two young people detained along with the teenager or about their possible connection to the incident. The mention of prosecutor Ferrari and La banda del Millón appears in both sources, but neither provides evidence of the alleged handing over of information by the judicial official; it is a phrase attributed to the assailants by police sources, without official confirmation.