The Extremadura High Court of Justice (TSJEx) is already handling the appeal on behalf of the defendants in a high-stakes theft case centered on a luxury hotel cellar. After the Cáceres Provincial Court handed down a four-year prison sentence and ordered restitution totaling 750,000 euros, the defense indicated an intention to challenge the verdict through the appropriate legal channels.
Within the timeframe mandated by law, the defense filed the appeal, and, following the necessary documentation and administrative steps, the case was forwarded to the Extremadura High Court. If the high court affirms the prior judgment, the defense retains the option to escalate the matter to the Supreme Court. The appeal has a clear path to review because the case meets the amount threshold, exceeding 600,000 euros, which concentrates judicial scrutiny at the appellate level. The deadline for filing and for notifying the parties is twenty days from the date of notification.
The restitution aspect of the case centers on a complex insurance arrangement tied to the wines involved in the alleged theft. After the owners were partially reimbursed by the insurance company, those entities entered the record primarily as witnesses rather than as direct defendants. Initially, the listed value of the wine catalog on display was estimated at 1.6 million euros, but a subsequent expert assessment arrived at a value of about 750,000 euros. This discrepancy contributes to the ongoing debate over loss assessment and damages in the proceedings.
The two defendants, Priscila Lara Guevara and Constantin Dumitru, were found guilty by the Cáceres County Court in March. They have remained in custody since their arrest during the summer, following an international operation that led to their detention while attempting to cross the border with Croatia by car. The presiding judge ordered pre-trial detention early in August, and since then they have been housed in separate modules within the Cáceres prison complex.
In Priscila’s case, there is no prior criminal record and the sentence imposed is under five years. This could enable her to seek third-degree or “progressive” benefits after serving a portion of the term, typically a quarter of the sentence, which would be after approximately one year. Dumitru, by contrast, carries previous convictions, which influences how early he might qualify for any staged-release considerations. In this framework, the defendants must demonstrate both the willingness to compensate the amount identified and the intent to comply with restitution orders as part of the ongoing proceedings. The court will review these factors as the appeal progresses, taking into account the evolving evidence and any new submissions from the defense and the prosecution.