The Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands has ratified the sentence of 3 and a half years in prison and a fine of 9,298 euros to one of the accused in the trial against the cannabis club of Arrecife “La oveja verde”, which was raided by the police in May 2018. Along with Yeray Lorenzo D.O., four other people were convicted, although in their case they had reached a settlement agreement and accepted the sentence, so they did not appeal the first instance ruling.
As for the sixth defendant in the case, Jorge Javier R.T., the new ruling of the TSJC indicates that he is still on the run, so he has not been able to be tried. Due to his absence, the only defendant for whom the hearing was held asked for the trial to be suspended, but the Provincial Court rejected it.
“It does not seem probable with a certain margin of certainty that said other defendant can be found in a reasonable period of time in order to enable the joint trial of the two”, the ruling states. In this regard, it explains that he was summoned to the address he provided at the time in Gran Canaria, where his mother resides, but she reported that he had traveled to Morocco, which was where he allegedly bought the drug. “The absence of an extradition treaty with said country leaves it in the realm of the highly uncertain that said defendant will voluntarily decide to return to Spain”, the ruling adds.
Thus, the procedure continued with only five of the six defendants, although four confessed before the hearing began. Three of them, Jonathan Cecilio P.D., Alejandro S.G. G. and Jean Paul C., were the founders of the club “La oveja verde” and admitted before the Sixth Section of the Provincial Court a crime against public health, for the sale of hashish and marijuana; and another of illicit association. The three accepted a sentence of two years in prison, compared to the 7 initially requested by the Prosecutor's Office, and a fine of about 13,000 euros.
The fourth defendant who confessed, Jonathan C.C., collaborated in the premises in the sale of drugs and accepted the same sentence of 2 years in prison and 13,000 euros fine.
Three kilos of hashish in a car in his name for "a favor"
As for the other two defendants -the fugitive, Jorge Javier R.T., and the one who has now seen his appeal rejected, Yeray Lorenzo D.O.-, were accused of supplying the drug to the club. During the police operation, both were surprised in the premises. Just opposite, the agents found and seized his vehicle, in which they were carrying almost 3 kilos of hashish, which according to the Prosecutor's Office would have had a value of 4,649 on the illicit market.
The car was rented in the name of Yeray Lorenzo D.O., who in his defense claimed that he did it to do a favor to the other defendant, so he argued that his presence in the trial was decisive. In fact, he argued that Jorge Javier R.T. himself confirmed it in the statement he presented after his arrest, acknowledging that the backpack with drugs that was found in the car was his.
“Let us admit that Jorge Javier R.T. incriminates himself by exonerating Yeray Lorenzo D.O., but this does not imply that this Chamber must admit as true the lack of involvement of Yeray Lorenzo D.O. in the crime that is attributed to him”, the second instance ruling states.
In addition, it describes his explanation as “implausible”. “The defendant Yeray Lorenzo states that he came from the island of El Hierro and at the Gran Canaria airport he met "casually" with Jorge Javier, but he does not offer - as the latter does not offer in the plenary - a logical reason why they travel together to Lanzarote, why they decide on the 16th, that is, one day before they were arrested at the association's premises, to rent a car at the airport offering Yeray Lorenzo's documentation, and why they decide on the morning of the following day to move together to the association, being more than evident that Yeray Lorenzo should know of the existence of the backpack with the acorns that he was carrying”, the ruling points out.
In this regard, he adds that when he was arrested inside the premises, Yeray was carrying three acorns, and his explanation was that his partner had given them to him, “for the favor of putting his name on the car rental”. “Most likely it would be the sample they wanted to show to those responsible for the association”, the Chamber concludes about those three acorns.
"Such an explanation is simply unsustainable"
In addition, he emphasizes that neither of them was a member of the club. “They claim to be consumers of hashish, and although they state that they were in the association to become members because they are consumers, such an explanation is simply unsustainable to the extent that both were in possession of a very appreciable amount of hashish as has been said, then it makes no rational sense that they decide to rent a car and go to the association with the purpose of associating to access that substance, when they already had an appreciable amount of it in the vehicle”, the ruling states.
“As the thesis of both defendants is unsustainable and absurd, the only reasonable explanation reconciling all these objective data with the fact that both had as their habitual residence the island of Gran Canaria, is that they agreed both to go to the association with the purpose of offering them the hashish they were carrying in exchange for a price, an operation that could not be completed when they were arrested when the entry and search was carried out in said association”, he concludes.
The ruling that has now been confirmed also ordered the dissolution of the illicit association and the closure of the premises of La Oveja Verde, as well as the confiscation of the drugs and money seized. And it concludes that its sole purpose was to “cover up a true illegal drug trafficking under the formal cover of freedom of association”.
In addition, it recalls that another similar ruling had already been issued in Lanzarote, which ended in conviction against those responsible for another association. And also the heads of another club are awaiting sentencing, who were tried last July.
