The brutal assault suffered by a businessman in Puerto del Carmen on September 1, 2010, when he was at home with his wife and daughter, has already been sentenced. The Provincial Court has imposed 16 years, 5 months and one day of prison on one of the accused, Mohamed Ali Mohamed Emghar, and 15 years and 5 months on the other, Wilkin Luís Estévez Méndez. The third person involved in the events could not be tried, since he was released on bail and is currently wanted.
That night, "the victim was violently surprised in the early hours of the morning, when he was peacefully in his home, in which his wife and young daughter were also present, who had to be hidden in a closet", the sentence emphasizes, when assessing some of the aggravating circumstances of the case, in which the businessman was beaten and even shot.
In the ruling, the Court convicts the two defendants for the crimes of attempted murder, illegal possession of weapons and attempted robbery with violence, in relation to another of trespassing, as requested by the Prosecutor's Office. In addition, it also takes into account the criminal aggravating factors raised by the prosecutor, Ignacio Stampa, such as the use of disguise (they covered their faces with a stocking) and abuse of superiority, which have contributed to increasing the penalties.
Criminal record, but no jail
In the case of Mohamed Emghar, his sentence is greater because the aggravating circumstance of recidivism in one of the crimes has also been considered, since he had a previous conviction for illegal possession of weapons, for which he has been sentenced to one year and one day more in prison.
In that previous conviction, which became final on August 12, 2009, he was sentenced to 18 months in prison, so he did not go to jail. In addition, when he committed the assault in Puerto del Carmen, he also had another conviction in the first instance, for a crime of injury. In that case, he had been sentenced to two years and three months in prison, but he was not yet serving it either, since it did not become final until a month later.
The new sentence of the Provincial Court also sentences Mohamed Ali Mohamed Emghar and Wilkin Luis Estévez Méndez to compensate the victim with the amount of almost 14,000 euros, both for the consequences caused by the aggression and for the days of disability suffered after the attack. The request for this figure had been made by the victim's lawyer, who appeared as a private prosecution.
During the trial, the two defendants tried to blame the third perpetrator of the assault, who is wanted, for the shooting, but the Court has rejected their version, considering that it incurs in multiple contradictions with respect to the first versions they gave of the events. Thus, it accepts the victim's account, and also the long list of testimonies and evidence provided to the case.
The story of a bitter night
The judgment of the Provincial Court considers it proven that the two defendants and the other person who could not be tried (Nicolás), "previously agreed and in order to seize the money" that the victim "could have in his home", "went to it with a stocking covering their faces, in order not to be recognized", jumped over a wall and accessed first the garden and from there to the terrace of the house.
Mohamed Emghar "carried a large katana" and Wilkin Luís "covered the others carrying a blank gun", which had been "modified to fire projectiles".
When the owner of the house was going out to the terrace, Nicolás entered the living room and a struggle began with the victim. "During said struggle, the defendant Mohamed Ali Mohamed Emghar began to hit the victim with the katana from behind, giving him a first blow on the back, and then hitting him several times in different parts of the body, at which point the so-called Nicolás took the opportunity to flee and leave the house", according to the sentence.
While Gianluca was being hit with the katana by Mohamed Ali, the other defendant pointed the gun at him threatening to shoot him if he continued to resist. However, the businessman managed to throw Mohamed Alí to the ground, break free from him and lock the glass door of the living room.
Shot through the glass
At that moment, the sentence continues, "Wilkin Luís approached the door and, with the purpose of ending the life" of the businessman, "who was approximately one meter away, pointed the gun at his chest and shot him, without achieving his purpose, since the projectile, after crossing the glass, deviated from its trajectory when" the victim "tried to protect himself with his left forearm, where he was injured before the projectile was permanently lodged in the anterior face of the thorax-abdomen, without penetrating said cavities".
Despite everything that happened, the now convicted insisted on trying to force the lock of the living room door, but when they failed to open it, they finally left the house.
In the sentence, to also assess the psychological damage suffered by the victim, the Court emphasizes that "despite being seriously injured, he first went to the Civil Guard facilities and then to the hospital", "demanding protection before medical assistance".
During the trial, held on February 25, the victim's wife also provided her harrowing account by videoconference. "I was awakened by Luca's screams, saying 'take the girl, run away and call the police'. I panicked, it was surreal, like a movie. I put the girl in a closet". "My husband's life was saved by the fact that he was shot when he was closing the door of the house, because the bullet went through the door. The blow stopped it a little", the woman declared during the hearing, trusting that "Justice" would be done. "Let these scoundrels pay for what they have done, because it is them and there is evidence", she asked then.
