In early 2025, several residential areas of Almería, particularly around Zapillo and on streets like Sierra Alhamilla, Ferrocarril, and Palmera, experienced a series of garage burglaries that caused significant social alarm. The judicial ruling brings an end to this episode, with a dual outcome: a firm conviction for the material perpetrator and the acquittal of the second person involved.
The magistrate of the Court of First Instance of Almería has sentenced the main perpetrator to four years and three months in prison for a continuous crime of robbery with force in an inhabited dwelling, also applying the aggravating circumstance of recidivism. It was determined that, between January and March of that year, the convicted individual systematically entered community parking lots, breaking vehicle windows to steal items such as remote controls, a laptop, wiring, and tools.
The accusation was based on mere suspicions or conjectures.
A relevant aspect of the sentence is the classification of the garages as an "inhabited dwelling," following the doctrine of the Supreme Court. This is because the parking lots formed an inseparable physical unit with the apartment blocks, with direct communication through elevators and fire doors, which increased the risk to residents. The assailant, who confessed to the acts claiming to seek money for drug consumption (an unproven mitigating factor), has been in provisional prison since March 15, 2025.
In contrast, the second defendant has been acquitted. The defense successfully demonstrated the lack of valid evidence linking him to the robberies. The investigation was based on the fact that the accused was found in public with the confessed perpetrator and was carrying tools, but no eyewitnesses or fingerprints directly implicated him. The judicial resolution emphasizes the importance of the presumption of innocence, decreeing the free and total acquittal of the accused.
