A movie-like chase and a gunfight on the stairs: the investigating judge's documents on the arrests of Rameta and Russo.

The preliminary investigations judge of the Court of Foggia, Marialuisa Bencivenga , ordered the pre-trial detention of Leonardo Russo , a 19-year-old from Foggia, and Erjon Rameta , a 37-year-old Albanian resident in the city. They are accused of carrying in a public place an illegal 9mm Beretta pistol with its serial number removed and five bullets in the magazine. The two were arrested in flagrante delicto on July 14, 2025 , and initially placed under house arrest.

The chase and the arrest

According to the document reviewed by l'Immediato , at 7 a.m. on July 14, a patrol car from the Foggia Police Headquarters intercepted two people on a black Yamaha T-Max scooter , wearing full-face helmets with tinted visors , who were speeding along Via Guido Dorso. The officers decided to stop them for a check, but the two continued on to Via La Piccirella , where they abandoned the vehicle and took refuge inside an apartment building.

While fleeing to the upper floors, one of the two men threw a gun down the stairs , while the other threw the motorcycle keys out the window . Inside the building, there was only one man believed by investigators to be close to the “Società Foggiana,” Mimmo Falco, paraplegic after an attack on him in 2015, but unrelated to the events involving Rameta and Russo. The two fugitives were apprehended shortly afterward, still wearing their helmets. A gray neck warmer was found on Rameta, while gloves and helmets were found in a utility room near the entrance. The weapon—a .9mm Beretta short , in perfect working order—was seized.

Pistol lubricated and recently serviced

The gun had recently been serviced and was ready for use. The scooter, however, was registered to a third party who had reported its loss.

During the preliminary hearing, both Russo and Rameta exercised their right to remain silent ; Rameta simply denied all charges.

The judge's reasons

According to investigating judge Bencivenga, there is serious evidence of guilt , supported by the circumstances of the case and the evidence gathered: "It is highly unlikely that a prudent individual would leave a weapon on the stairs for long, unless he wanted to immediately dispose of it in the event of an imminent search." According to the judge, there is both the risk of tampering with evidence —since the weapon could have been held on behalf of a third party—and the risk of repetition of the crime , with "the commission of serious crimes involving the use of weapons."

The personality of the suspects is considered "seriously compromised": Russo , although very young, is burdened by specific precedents , and according to the investigating judge, both are involved in a highly criminal network .

The precedents

Russo , a minor at the time, was stopped by the Flying Squad on 17 February 2022 as part of an investigation coordinated by the District Anti-Mafia Directorate : he was accused of having placed a bomb in front of the “Poseidon” pub , in the historic centre of Foggia, in January of the same year.

Rameta , on the other hand, had recently completed a six-year sentence for planting explosive devices in November 2019 outside the same "Poseidon" and in January 2020 outside a day center for the elderly, "Il Sorriso di Stefano," owned by the Telesforo-Vigilante group. The state arranged for a bodyguard for the young manager, Luca Vigilante, after the bombings and mafia pressure, which had already emerged in the 2018 "Decima Azione" operation by other Foggia mafia members.

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