A twenty-year-old man from Alicante faced preventive detention for six months after an attempted robbery of a local police officer. The incident occurred at dawn when the suspect allegedly assaulted the officer, forcing his way with a weapon and inflicting a facial wound. He was released from custody at the end of December, following a court ruling that limited the punishment to two years in prison, half of the original sentence proposed by the prosecution, as determined by the 10th Criminal Court in Alicante’s capital city.
The defendant’s defense was presented by lawyer Sebastián Ospina of the Quiroga Sánchez law firm in Alicante. The court calculated one year in prison for extortion by violence and intimidation, connected to the attempt to use a dangerous tool, and another year for wounding with a dangerous tool, which together formed the core of the defendant’s sentence for the case.
Compensation
As part of the ruling, the defendant was ordered to compensate the victim with 1,807 euros plus applicable interest. A prior payment of 753 euros had already been deposited before the hearing, which the court considered when mitigating the overall damages. The court also applied reductions linked to the defendant’s intoxication at the time of the events, in recognition of alcohol and drug influence as factors in the incident.
The facts deemed proven by the sentence include the morning of 14 May 2023, at 06:20, when the defendant approached a local night-shift police officer who was walking home after work along San Mateo Avenue. He allegedly grabbed the officer by the neck and pressed a stick and knife toward him to intimidate and rob him. The officer reacted instinctively, turning away and delivering an elbow strike. The attacker managed to escape but sustained injuries to the jaw from a knife during the scuffle, and the officer bled heavily in the moments that followed. Despite the pursuit, the assailant vanished without seizing any cash or valuables, and the officer, though pursuing, conceded defeat due to the extent of his injuries, according to the court’s findings.
During the hearing, the defendant stated that memory of the events was hazy due to heavy intoxication. The officer, however, identified the defendant beyond reasonable doubt. The defense team had opposed a prosecutor’s offer of three years in prison in exchange for a plea agreement, which would have avoided a full trial. Ultimately, the court sentenced the defendant to two years of imprisonment.