The Alicante Court acquitted a Guardia Civil member from the Javea police station of embezzlement for keeping eight watches and four rings confiscated during a police operation after the statute of limitations expired. The incident occurred more than five years ago, in September 2016.
During the June 4th hearing, the defendant acknowledged his guilt and admitted to carrying the seized jewellery home three weeks later.
However, the court agreed to his acquittal. The ruling states that in 2016, the officer was working in the investigation department of the Javea Guardia Civil post and, “with the intention of obtaining illicit financial gain,” he appropriated eight watches and four rings, which he added to his assets, taking them from police premises and hiding them in his home.
A bag with the Guardia Civil emblem is disguised under a pouffe
In December 2021, the defendant’s ex-wife went to the Dénia National Police Station and handed over a bag emblazoned with the Guardia Civil badge containing the watches and rings.
At the time, she claimed she discovered the bag stashed in a pouffe in the couple’s married residence. According to the verdict, the watches and rings were confiscated during Operation Pinosol, which took place in the Marina Alta neighbourhood of Alicante in August 2016.
It said that one of the watches was valued at 3,800 euros, while the other seven and four remaining rings were valued at 1,246.89 euros.
The Prosecutor’s Office proposed a two-year prison term and an additional nine-month punishment, with a daily rate of 10 euros, for the agent convicted of misappropriation of property, which is classified as a felony under the Criminal Code (CP) and carries a potential sentence of six months to three years in prison.
However, the court determines that, “since five years have passed since the commission of the acts,” the statute of limitations shall be enforced in line with the requirements of Articles 130 and 131 of the Criminal Code for offences with a maximum punishment of five years.
As a result of the statute of limitations, the judgement is acquittal, but an appeal can be lodged with the High Court of Justice of the Valencian Community (TSJCV) within ten days of notification.
Author: Derek Appleton
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