The Criminal Court number 3 of Arrecife has acquitted a neighbor who owns a plot in Caleta de Caballo accused of a crime of serious disobedience by the Teguise City Council for not removing from her property a fence that closed the public road. The non-final sentence can be appealed before the Provincial Court of Las Palmas within a period of ten days.
The Prosecutor's Office and the Teguise City Council were asking for nine months in prison and special disqualification for the exercise of the right to passive suffrage during the term of the sentence and the payment of costs.
The Court's ruling states that a crime of disobedience requires that the "resistance or disobedience be serious." However, the evidence presented in the plenary confirms that the accused did not receive an "express and individualized" requirement to forcibly remove or withdraw the fence. She was only notified at the beginning that a process had begun against her.
The events date back to August 20, 2020, the Teguise City Council, under the mayoralty of Oswaldo Betancort, agreed to remove the fence that closes the public road of this property. The Council considered then that it was built "without obtaining the corresponding and mandatory urban planning license or prior communication."
As proven facts in the sentence, it is stated that the owner of this land was not notified, but that another person was notified that they should remove the fence. After this decree, the Teguise City Council agreed to initiate the forced execution procedure and gave 24 hours for the fence to be removed.
The Court states that "it is not recorded" that the Council, through the Urban Planning area, then led by Olivia Duque, the current mayor, notified the owner of the land of said warning.
Throughout the process, the documentation provided during the case reveals that attempts were made to notify the citizen on several occasions without success, since she did not live in the area. Thus, at the end of the year, her husband could have been notified of the requirement, but his signature is not recorded.
According to the Criminal Court number 3 of Arrecife, "it is not recorded that the accused was notified of the forced execution decree, nor was she made any personal requirement with warning of the consequences of a possible breach of the order, nor that a complaint would be filed with the Prosecutor's Office in case of breach."
On December 28, 2020, the Teguise City Council resolves to dismantle the fence and transport the material at its expense. The cost was 92.57 euros as it was a fence of "few meters". The Court considers that "it is evident that 15 minutes is enough time for its dismantling."
The Court assures that taking into account "the lack of an express notification", together with "the little or minimal importance" of the facts, it resolves that the owner of the property must be acquitted.
