Lithuanian Aidas J., aged 50 and known in police briefings as gastrojeta, was promised a straightforward outcome after his detention this morning at the Alicante Duty Court. He was then moved to Instruction Court No. 1 for a quick trial. To stage a final gesture, he pretended to be ill and collapsed. While awaiting the oral hearing, the National Police resecured him with shackles after Alicante Instruction Court No. 5 accepted his sentence to 42 days in prison for failing to pay fines from two prior appearances concerning theft and fraud offenses committed last December.
Going to prison for the third time over gastrojeta’s actions, the tally rose to 20 arrests in the rapid-hearing process that has continued since last November. This morning, in Instruction Court No. 1, the Prosecutor requested a fine of 900 euros for minor fraud and a small compensation of 34.85 euros to the restaurant El Buen Comer, the amount he refused to settle last Tuesday at the Calle Mayor establishment in Alicante.
Juan Carlos Gracia, who runs the restaurant, attended the oral hearing to recount the latest instance of a so-called simpa by gastrojeta. He emphasized the damage caused by the disruption to business for about an hour and a half due to the restaurant occupation, noting that the prosecutor did not seek additional compensation for those events.
Gastrojeta testified without a smile, accompanied by a translator. When asked whether he remembered leaving the restaurant without paying, he replied that he did not recall clearly because he had been drinking. The restaurant manager stated that the Lithuanian patron consumed items at the doorway of the Palace of Justice, including three whiskeys, soft drinks, and a paella meal.
Although Aidas J. claimed hazy recollections of Calle Mayor, he admitted to the prosecutor that this was not his first such incident.
The prosecutor urged the magistrate to impose criminal sanctions in addition to the 34.85 euro fine and the restitution to the restaurant, along with a ban on visiting such premises for six months.
Fell down
When the hearing concluded, gastrojeta asserted that the restaurant manager tried to usher him out without payment, and they were surprised at the doorway. He claimed he did not want to settle the bill and suggested paying at a hotel instead. The National Police were alerted from the building, and the Lithuanian diner began acting as if he felt ill and collapsed, remaining on the floor for about an hour and a half.
The restaurant manager later described the incident as fraud at the doorway of the Alicante Palace of Justice, a point confirmed by the photographer Rafa Arjones. The hotel owner commented that the restaurant was blocked for almost an hour and a half and no payment was made. Despite twenty arrests in less than a year, most were for simpa acts and some instances of clothing theft. The manager who accused gastrojeta did not know him but stated that he appeared intoxicated when entering her residence, though she acted cautiously during the visit.
Additionally, gastrojeta testified that he had the aid of a translator during the hearing. The hotel owner, however, insisted that he understood everything and ordered food by pointing to the menu rather than asking for assistance.
In another case, a separate simpa incident occurred on September 14. The victim did not pursue the complaint during the speedy hearing, and the prosecutor requested acquittal once the court accepted the request. The 44.30 euro simpa took place at a restaurant on Explanada, where the diner had eaten for free the previous year. The acquittal decision from the 4th Instruction Court of Alicante was delivered while gastrojeta remained in the Palace of Justice dungeons.
The judge of Instruction Court No. 5, noting gastrojeta’s appearance at the Palace of Justice on Thursday, issued an order for 42 days in prison due to non-payment of fines stemming from separate incidents: a jacket valued at over 200 euros stolen from a shop and another simpa involving 59 euros at an Alicante restaurant.