A 24-year-old man was arrested yesterday by the Lisbon Metropolitan Command of the Public Security Police (PSP), through the Oeiras Police Division, on charges of aggravated robbery and coercion of an elderly person with disabilities, in compliance with an arrest warrant.
The incident occurred on May 8 in the Algés area, where the suspect, aware of the victim’s vulnerability—a retiree due to disability with a 60% physical incapacity—surprised them after they had withdrawn their monthly pension of 560 euros, their only means of livelihood, according to a statement sent by the PSP to newsrooms on Wednesday.
The authority further reports that the suspect “led the victim to an isolated area, where they were violently attacked”: “He applied a chokehold from behind and threatened to shoot with an (invisible) firearm,” subsequently “assaulting the victim with punches and kicks and dragging them across the ground for several meters, causing multiple injuries.”
In the same note, the PSP states that, during the assault, the suspect “searched the victim’s pockets, ultimately stealing the money before fleeing the scene.”
The victim was assisted by bystanders and refused hospital transport due to a high state of anxiety.
In addition to the physical violence and illegitimate appropriation of the pension, “the suspect supposedly contacted the victim later with the intent to intimidate and dissuade them from filing a complaint with the authorities, issuing verbal threats.”
Following investigative efforts, the perpetrator—already with a criminal record for similar offenses and serving a suspended sentence—was identified and located, leading to the arrest.
The suspect will now be presented to the Competent Judicial Authority for the first judicial interrogation, where a restraining measure will be applied.
