The second section of the Provincial Court of Las Palmas has dismissed the appeal filed by two people, who were convicted of attempted robbery with force in an apartment in the Hotel Santa Rosa, in Costa Teguise. The Court has confirmed the sentence of the Criminal Court Number 3 of Arrecife, which sentenced them to one year and six months in prison. Both had criminal records for another attempted robbery in an inhabited house, although they did not go to jail.
In that case, the sentence was eight months in prison, so since it did not exceed two years, the execution was suspended. However, a year later they participated in another attempted robbery.
The events for which they were convicted for the second time date back to the night of January 16, 2013. According to the first instance ruling that has been confirmed by the Court, these two men "forced the door of an apartment in the Hotel Santa Rosa", located on Avenida del Mar in Costa Teguise, "breaking the lock in order to access the interior of the apartment". They acted, according to the ruling, "in common agreement with the purpose of obtaining an illicit patrimonial benefit".
However, they did not finally achieve their purpose "of seizing all the valuables inside" the apartment, because they were surprised by the hotel guests. For these events, they were sentenced on February 5, 2013 to one year and six months in prison.
The accused then filed an appeal, alleging the existence of an error in basing the sentence "on the statement of the alleged witnesses and on the statements of the police officers who did not witness the events". The accused denied having forced the door of the apartment, they stated that "they only limited themselves to checking if it was open" and added that the fact that the witnesses saw them "manipulating the door does not mean that they intended to appropriate what was not theirs".
These appealed facts have not been admitted by the Provincial Court, which "understands that the assessment" that the judge of first instance makes of the evidence practiced is "totally adjusted to law, without any error or essential mistake being noticed in it, since the sentence is based on the evidence of indications from which the participation of the accused in the facts declared proven is inferred". In addition, the Court points out that in the photographs "the damage caused to the terrace door" could be observed and insists that one of the convicted "admitted that they intended to commit a robbery and get money to be able to return to Arrecife".
Therefore, the Provincial Court has dismissed the appeal of these two convicts, who will have to pay the costs derived from this appeal.