A dangerous criminal wanted by five courts with arrest warrants and immediate jail time was arrested last Friday morning in Valencia after stabbing a man in the neck, stealing a scooter, and confronting police. Agents fired four shots into the air as a precaution, and the suspect, who held two knives, surrendered his resistance.
Rafael B. Ll., 40, a Spanish national, had been on the run since October. He did not return to prison in Zaragoza after being granted prison leave. Since then, authorities had sought his arrest through five different courts, all issuing seizure orders for various offenses that carried the possibility of imprisonment.
At around 1:00 a.m. on December 2, the suspect attacked two teenagers on Poeta Federico García Lorca Street in Valencia and threatened to steal their scooters. He fled with one of the two scooters while the other victim pursued the thief and managed to catch him. During the confrontation, the assailant drew a knife and cut the neck of the scooter owner.
The SAMU emergency service treated the 24-year-old man, originally from Pakistan, and transported him to Hospital La Fe. The wound was serious enough to draw attention for bleeding, though the injury was not life-threatening due to its shallow depth.
Several eyewitnesses who witnessed the incident fled toward the orchard when the suspect escaped along the train tracks. Those bystanders had to defend themselves against further knife attacks using improvised weapons such as iron rods and fry pans.
Valencia Local Police and National Police officers managed to subdue the suspect without excessive force and proceeded to take him into custody. Before being arrested, officers repeatedly instructed him to drop the knife, and they fired several rounds into the air out of caution. A second concealed knife was discovered during the search.
The detainee was transported to the health center for treatment. Some witnesses reported that the detainee was struck with a metal bar during the arrest, though the details remained contested as the investigation unfolded.
The individual was presented before the examining court, which ordered pre-trial detention on charges including attempted murder or serious injury with a weapon, robbery using violence and weapons, and assaulting law enforcement officers. The prosecutor cited the obvious risk of escape and the detainee’s extensive criminal history as grounds for the preventive detention decision, highlighting the concern about potential recidivism.