A case in Benidorm involved an Algerian man who, along with a co-defendant of Moroccan origin, faced charges after an incident on Levante beach. The prosecution argued that the two men stabbed an Algerian individual following a dispute triggered when the victim’s mobile phone rang. Although both defendants denied the robbery and stabbing, the victim testified against them, and the Prosecution urged the court to impose a lengthy prison sentence for violent robbery and attempted murder.
The prosecutor also sought compensation for the victim, amounting to 19,480 euros for damages and consequences. The defense teams, meanwhile, asked for an acquittal on the charge of injuries or, in the alternative, a conviction that did not include that specific charge.
The two defendants were in pre-trial detention after being arrested at dawn on May 21, 2022. They maintained their innocence and alleged that the victim had assaulted them earlier. The Algerian defendant, denying that he stole the phone, recounted that the victim approached him with an iron bar and, after an attack, began running away.
His companion tried to intervene, and then the victim’s associates, described as porters or waiters working in local businesses, arrived with a scooter. They helped the victim pursue the other man. According to the defendants, both were intoxicated, and one of them stopped the police to seek help, a claim contradicted by officers who testified at the hearing.
drug problems
The other defendant also denied the robbery and suggested that the victim and his companion were having drug-related issues. He claimed a quarrel arose between the two groups, and he stepped in to separate them. He asserted that his friend began to run but did not attempt to take the phone.
The victim allegedly called friends who arrived with a baseball bat. According to the defendants, those reinforcements began hitting them. The accused stated that he avoided being struck on the head with a stick and that he did not know how the victim sustained knife wounds.
The victim’s account during the trial diverged significantly from what the defendants claimed. He testified that he had been resting in a hammock on Levante beach at dawn and was speaking with his mother before the incident escalated. He noted that one of the defendants suddenly removed his mobile phone from his chest, which led to a confrontation that ended with a gun-like threat and a stabbing.
The victim said that another defendant also stabbed him, resulting in multiple wounds to the stomach, arm, forehead, and neck. After the stabbing, he pursued the attackers, despite his injuries, and a police call soon followed reporting a fight in the Rincón de Loix area. The first officers to respond observed a man bleeding in the street and were told to identify the perpetrators who had fled the scene.
Police officers confirmed at the hearing that the two suspects fled quickly and did not comply with stop warnings. No bladed weapon was found at the scene according to the officers. The coroner noted that the wounds were not life-threatening and did not involve vital organs.