The Second Section of the Provincial Court of Tarragona has replaced a three-year prison sentence with expulsion from Spain for seven years for a man accused of attempting to steal clothes and footwear worth about 40 euros at the Parc Central shopping center in Tarragona.
The ruling comes after the accused, born in Morocco and with no legal residence, family, or job in Spain, committed the new offense only seven days after a previous eight-month prison sentence for another robbery in the same city was suspended. The agreement was reached between the Prosecutor's Office and the defense.
The accused tried to take clothes worth 40 euros and threatened two guards
The events occurred at seven in the evening on August eighth of last year in a commercial establishment in Parc Central. Two security guards intercepted the man as he was trying to leave without paying for a pair of trousers and some sneakers.
At that moment, the accused grabbed a metal bar from a shelf and tried to hit the two security workers. During the struggle, he made the threats "Remember my face" and "I'm going to kill you."
The case did not prove that he hit them with the bar. Furthermore, the garments were recovered in perfect condition and the store put them back on sale, so the establishment did not claim any compensation.
The Court of Tarragona applied recidivism for another robbery committed in the city
The initial three-year prison sentence incorporated the aggravating factor of recidivism. The man had already been sentenced the previous year to eight months in prison for a robbery also committed in Tarragona.
That sentence was suspended on August first of last year. The new attempted robbery occurred only seven days later, on August eighth, in the same municipality.
With that prior record and the administrative situation of the convicted person in Spain, the Provincial Court of Tarragona agreed to his expulsion for seven years in substitution of the prison sentence provided for in the agreement between the prosecution and the defense.
The Parc Central establishment recovered the trousers and sneakers, valued at about 40 euros, in perfect condition and without claiming compensation for the events.