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Harvard law professor who fired pellet gun near temple takes a plea deal
Carlos Portugal Gouvêa told police he was hunting rats near Temple Beth Zion, where congregants were marking the start of Yom Kippur.
A visiting Harvard Law School professor charged with firing a pellet gun outside a Brookline synagogue last month will serve six months of probation after reaching a deal with Norfolk County prosecutors.
According to his Oct. 1 arrest report, Carlos Portugal Gouvêa, 47, told Brookline police he was using the rifle to hunt rats near Temple Beth Zion, where congregants were marking the start of Yom Kippur. While Temple Beth Zion later told community members there was “no reason to believe this was an antisemitic event,” the incident nevertheless put the synagogue on temporary lockdown.
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Prosecutors dismissed three of Gouvêa’s four charges — vandalism, disorderly conduct, and disturbing the peace — on Nov. 13 as part of a plea agreement, the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office confirmed. For his remaining count, illegally discharging a BB gun, Gouvêa agreed to serve six months of pretrial probation and pay $386.59 in restitution after one of his pellets shattered a window on a nearby parked car.
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Gouvêa had pleaded not guilty to all four charges; a spokesperson for the DA’s office clarified that no change of plea is taken in a case that is disposed through pretrial probation. However, the case may be placed back on track for trial if the defendant violates the terms of their probation.
Neither Gouvêa nor his attorney responded to requests for comment Monday. An attorney who previously represented Gouvêa, Vikas S. Dhar, said earlier that the professor “categorically denies that his actions were motivated by anti-semitism or by any intent to cause fear or disruption to the Temple Beth Zion community.”
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Gouvêa is an associate professor at the University of São Paulo Law School in Brazil and CEO of the Brazilian think tank Global Law Institute, according to his Harvard Law School faculty page.
Shortly after the incident in Brookline, a Harvard Law spokesperson said the school had placed Gouvêa on administrative leave as it sought to “learn more about this matter.” Gouvêa’s current employment status was not immediately clear.
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