The decision was made following a preliminary hearing held this Wednesday, where the involved parties failed to reach a conformity agreement that would have allowed for an early resolution of the case. The events took place around 11:30 PM in Cazorla's Plaza de Santa María, when the Local Police requested assistance to intervene with an agitated individual carrying a bladed weapon.
The accused, a 42-year-old man, inflicted an initial stab wound to the police chief's neck, followed by three more to the collarbone and back, before fleeing to his home in Plaza de la Tejera. The injured officer was rushed to Úbeda Hospital, where he underwent surgery. According to the Prosecutor's Office's indictment, the injuries “would have caused the officer's death had it not been for prompt surgical intervention.”
After barricading himself on his building's rooftop and throwing tiles and glass bottles onto the street, the assailant was eventually apprehended by Guardia Civil officers, who had cordoned off the area due to public risk. The accused was hospitalized for psychiatric stabilization and subsequently imprisoned, where he remains awaiting trial.
The injuries would have caused the officer's death had it not been for prompt surgical intervention.
The Public Prosecutor's Office classifies the acts as attempted murder and assault on authority, requesting 14 years of internment in a suitable psychiatric facility, or alternatively, supervised release for the same period. It also seeks 25,000 euros in compensation for the victim and 700 euros for the City Council for damages to the bulletproof vest. The private prosecution requests a higher sentence of 15 years and three months, with an additional 30-year banishment from Cazorla.
The defense, represented by lawyer Bernardo Soriano, proposes only five years of supervised release. He argues that at the time of the incident, the accused was suffering from a severe psychotic episode that nullified his cognitive and volitional capacities, exacerbated by drug use. Soriano emphasized that since his incarceration, the accused has not consumed substances or engaged in further violent episodes, and is remorseful, willing to compensate the victim by selling his home. The lawyer also highlighted that the accused's family had unsuccessfully sought his judicial incapacitation for two years, with a guardianship for his sister only granted after the incident.
During the preliminary hearing, the defense also requested the accused's conditional release, a petition rejected by all other parties and the court itself. Furthermore, the accused refuses to follow the prescribed psychiatric treatment in prison, a circumstance that could bear weight in the oral trial scheduled for next June.
