SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Dec. 17 (EUROPA PRESS) –
An off-duty National Police officer has arrested a 55-year-old man in La Laguna, with multiple police records, as the alleged perpetrator of a crime of robbery with violence or intimidation committed on an octogenarian who was queuing at a bank branch to enter 1,000 euros.
After his arrest, the National Police investigators linked him to the alleged responsibility of five other crimes against property; another robbery with violence or intimidation and four crimes of theft.
The events occurred at noon on December 13 in the San Benito area when an old man was going to deposit 1,000 euros, which he carried in an envelope, in a bank branch when he was approached by another middle-aged man who, giving him a jerk , took the money.
A woman, witness to the events, tried to prevent the thief from fleeing but he, wielding a large screwdriver, prevented her from doing so, highlights the National Police in a note.
Nearby, an off-duty national police officer saw what was happening and went to help the citizens.
Identifying himself, he stopped the thief who, to flee, tried to attack him with the screwdriver without success, since he dodged his attacks. Once reduced, he was arrested by the agent and transferred to the police station by a patrol of the National Police.
The money recovered, finally, was delivered to its owner by the citizen who tried to prevent the escape of the criminal.
Investigators from the Judicial Police Brigade of the National Police coordinated their actions to examine previous complaints, in order to detect similar cases under investigation and
They observed that there were other events that followed the same pattern.
As in the violent robbery just committed, in the other events the thief, also near bank branches, tried to steal money from clients without using violence. If he didn’t get it this way, he didn’t hesitate to use it to get it.
After carrying out the necessary procedures, the investigators linked the detainee with the alleged responsibility of five other crimes against property committed in La Laguna, another robbery with violence or intimidation and four crimes of theft.
In total, the amount of the stolen amounted to more than 1,400 euros.
The National Police emphasizes that citizen collaboration has been essential for the rapid arrest of the alleged thief and the clarification of the facts.
The detainee, together with the report, was placed at the disposal of the competent judicial authority.
The actions were carried out by national police officers from the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Provincial Police Station.
