The Alicante civil guard officer facing a crime accusation avoided an oral hearing by entering into a consent agreement. He agreed to serve five months in prison and to a ten month disqualification for diverting public funds during a gambling incident in a game room involving 9,000 euros. He had assisted in an anti-drug operation in 2020. At the time, the agent struggled with a gambling problem and began treatment after the events and subsequent court proceedings.
The Public Prosecutor initially sought a sentence of one year and eleven months in prison and a five-year ban from public employment. The defense, represented by Miguel Angel Monserrat Gandolfo, reached an agreement with the Public Ministry. The deal included five months in prison, a ten month disqualification, and an agreement not to object to postponing the execution of the sentence for two years. The prosecutor also considered the act of spending money in hours at roulette and the defense argued abnormality or a psychic change due to the gambling addiction, which influenced the final decision.
The court ruled in line with the agreement, sentencing the officer to five months in prison for embezzlement of public funds. The events in question occurred in August 2020, at a time when the officer was undergoing gambling treatment. The civil guard unit involved was the Judicial Police Organic Unit of the Alicante Command, and the agent was dispatched with a colleague to Molina de Segura to participate in an anti-drug operation. On August 4, a visual inspection of a truck with Portuguese plates led to the seizure of twelve bags of marijuana and 9,000 euros in 20 and 50 euro notes from the driver’s cabin.
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The drugs and cash remained in the custody of the accused officer until the case reached justice, despite the lack of direct orders from a superior to keep them. After the Molina de Segura operation, the unit returned to Alicante around 02:00 the following day. There were indications of personal enrichment, as 9,000 euros were taken from the scene and spent at a game room on Portugal Street in Alicante. The officer was at the premises from early morning until around midday, wagering the entirety of the recovered funds on roulette and ultimately losing the money. He later left the operation and reported at headquarters that the money had been lost and could not be replaced. The drugs were delivered, but the money could not be recovered due to gambling problems.
The defendant faced impairment of impulse control related to gambling, which partially affected imputability according to the eligibility ruling. A trial with a popular jury had been scheduled in the Alicante Court, but the parties agreed to the plea, and the officer pleaded guilty. Before signing the agreement, the defendant deposited 9,000 euros into the court account with arrangements to transfer the funds to the General Directorate of Security.