Four defendants convicted in a case involving armed robberies and Molotov cocktails stored in Dolores have avoided immediate imprisonment after Alicante’s Provincial Court suspended their sentences.
Two received prison terms totalling two years each, while the other two were sentenced to seven months each. All four sentences were suspended for four years, on condition that the defendants do not reoffend.
The ruling followed an agreement between prosecutors and defence lawyers. The court applied a substantial reduction for excessive delays in proceedings that were beyond the defendants’ control.
Prosecutors had initially sought eleven-year sentences for the two principal defendants and four years for each of the others.
The two main defendants, Bulgarian and Lithuanian nationals, were convicted over an attempted armed robbery at a villa in La Cañada del Fenollar, Alicante, and a violent attempt to steal an Audi Q7 in San Miguel de Salinas.
The first incident happened on April 25, 2022. The pair entered the villa’s grounds and threatened a resident with a gun while he was cleaning the swimming pool.
He escaped inside and shouted that he would call police. His brother was also threatened at gunpoint before the attackers fled empty-handed in a black BMW.
On June 8, the same defendants confronted a couple beside their Audi in San Miguel de Salinas, demanding the keys.
When the man refused, they punched and kicked him and struck him with the gun. His wife was pushed to the ground, threatened and kicked.
The attackers stole a mobile phone but failed to open the locked vehicle. They left after discovering the couple’s young daughter inside.
The two defendants must pay €599 compensation for the man’s injuries and the stolen phone.
Police subsequently searched a garage in Dolores on June 15, uncovering five homemade incendiary devices containing petrol and diesel. Four had cloth fuses attached.
Officers also seized seven bulletproof vests, four military helmets, communications equipment, balaclavas, handcuffs, number plates, axes, sledgehammers and equipment for forcing doors.
All four defendants were convicted of possessing the incendiary devices. The other two were convicted solely in connection with their storage.
The National Police investigation initially resulted in six arrests, mostly in Dolores.
The court’s final ruling concludes proceedings arising from the 2022 operation. Although prison terms were imposed, the defendants will remain out of custody provided they comply with the conditions of suspension throughout the four-year period set by the court.
