Matias Messi, older brother of Barcelona and Argentina star Lionel Messi, has been convicted for illegally possessing a firearm.
The football star’s sibling was handed a two-and-a-half year prison sentence yesterday. However, he was given the option of communtiy service in lieu of jail time Argentine newspaper, La Capital, reports that the decision was reached through a deal with investigating prosecutors.
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The firearm was found late in 2017 in a blood-stained boat, which was steered and crashed by the 35-year-old in the Parana River. The football star’s sibling was initially held under preventive arrest and later released as he recovered from a fractured jaw and other injuries in the Santa Fe province of Argentina.
At that time, his lawyer argued that his client crashed the boat into a sandbank and denied that he owned the gun.
Matias who has has been linked with known criminals in the past, was held for 16 hours in a prison cell in 2015 after officers found an unlicensed 22-calibre gun in his car. He was also arrested In 2008 for allegedly having a loaded gun in his belt.