The Provincial Court of Santa Cruz de Tenerife has imposed a one-year prison sentence on a man accused of breaking into the home of a person who had been hired to decorate his house due to alleged money discrepancies between them.
According to the ruling, the defendant went to the decorator's house to demand the return of some money, and when she refused, the man refused to leave the residence, so the complainant called the police.
A jury determined some months ago the guilt of the accused, who is now being given this sentence, which includes the suspension of imprisonment if he does not commit a crime in the next two years.
The jury based the conviction on the fact that from the moment the woman urged him to leave the office located in the garage of her residence until the police arrived, 20 minutes passed, as could be seen in a video.
During that time, the man refused to leave until the complainant gave him the money through Bizum, which she did, but the next day.
In this case, the Prosecutor's Office believed that it was more correct to speak of a crime of coercion due to the insistence on collecting, which would have avoided gathering a jury as required for burglary crimes.
The accused knew the complainant as an English teacher and interior decorator, so the family began to consult her on various aspects since they were renovating their home, so they ended up commissioning a project.
At one point, the woman said she did not want to continue with the assignment for reasons that are unknown, after which the accused went to her office located in the garage of her home to ask for explanations.
Once in the office, they initially had a cordial conversation until they began to disagree when the client demanded that she return the money for some curtains.
The woman replied that she had to consult with her lawyer first, so the discussion escalated until the complainant demanded that the defendant leave the place.
Upon refusal, the woman called the police and her lawyer, who warned the defendant that he was committing a crime, while the man chose to contact his wife so that she would also come to the place.
