Daylight washed the Fabra i i Puig promenade in the Barcelona district of Nou Barris as a Catalan woman, 44, walked along the street around seven in the morning on the date in question. Two men dressed in dark sweatpants approached from behind and pulled her black shoulder bag, stealing it along with its contents, according to Prensa Ibérica’s investigation and the CASE OPEN channel. (Source: Prensa Ibérica)
The thieves fled with the bag that contained an iPad, a Toshiba laptop valued at about 1,200 euros, and the keys and documents to the woman’s home. (Source: Prensa Ibérica)
Changed the lock
The victim filed a report with the Mossos d’Esquadra on the same day, unable to provide further details. She took steps to secure her home by changing the apartment door lock, hoping that the investigation would lead to identifying and arresting the culprits. (Source: Prensa Ibérica)
About a month later, on the morning of August 1, Mossos recovered part of the loot about ten kilometers from the assault location. A 36-year-old Barcelona resident had sold the stolen computer to a secondhand Cash Converter shop in the Sants district for around 380 euros. The man, Albert Cavalle, was known at the time as the love cheater after twenty women accused him of manipulating them for money during relationships. (Source: Prensa Ibérica)
Magic Market
On Tuesday Cavalle faced charges in criminal court number 19 in Barcelona for trading in stolen goods. The prosecution requested a sentence of a year and a half in prison, while Cavalle pleaded not guilty and claimed no involvement in the theft and no knowledge that the computer was stolen. (Source: Prensa Ibérica)
Represented by attorney David Sans, Cavalle asserted that he bought the laptop several days before reselling it at Encants Market in Plaza de Las Glorias. He had previously acquired other electronics at the same market, including a TV and a wireless speaker. He could not recall the purchase price for the Bluetooth device and the computer, but he argued that the price was not suspiciously low. (Source: Prensa Ibérica)
Other women’s computers
The defendant, who has a criminal record including fraud, embezzlement, the plotting of crimes, and false complaints, had prior convictions for taking computers and other valuables from women he deceived. In November, the Barcelona Court sentenced him to three and a half years in prison for deceiving his first girlfriend into staying with him and causing losses totaling around 60,000 euros, along with a Jeep Cherokee, a laptop, a television, and a cell phone. (Source: Prensa Ibérica)
Cavalle’s criminal history stretches back about nine years. In 2013, in Barcelona, he allegedly met a woman through a contact page, spent a night with her, and left after dawn, later reported as theft by the victim. She claimed her laptop was among the items stolen, and Cavalle was fined for the incident. (Source: Prensa Ibérica)