One of the young men behind last week’s terrifying bank raid in San Pedro del Pinatar, in which six people were taken hostage, has been remanded in custody by a judge.
The suspect, 18-year-old Malik D.A., appeared before the court on Monday and was ordered to prison by the judge at Court of Instruction No. 3 of San Javier. The Spanish national is accused of taking part in the armed robbery attempt that sparked panic inside a local bank branch on Friday.
Prosecutors say the pair stormed the bank wearing masks and armed with a machete and a replica firearm, trapping six people inside — three staff and three customers.
The dramatic siege ended without injuries after officers from the Guardia Civil and the San Pedro del Pinatar Local Police negotiated with the suspects and persuaded them to surrender.
Malik D.A. now faces charges of attempted robbery with violence and intimidation in a public establishment using a dangerous weapon.
His defence lawyer, Ignacio Fernández, has announced plans to request a forensic psychiatric assessment to evaluate the teenager’s mental health.
Police sources say the robbery was first reported by a customer who managed to raise the alarm during the incident. Officers quickly surrounded the building and opened negotiations with the suspects.
Both suspects — one of whom was still a minor at the time of the arrest — were already known to local authorities for previous incidents, according to investigators.
The failed heist triggered a major police response and left the normally quiet town of San Pedro del Pinatar shaken by one of the area’s most dramatic bank standoffs in recent years.
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