A young Portuguese man, suspected of beating a man to death in A Guarda, Spain, is set to be tried by the Spanish judiciary. The crime dates back to September 2022, and the suspect was apprehended months later, in February 2023, in Caminha, Portugal.
He will be tried by the Criminal Court of Pontevedra after the Spanish Public Prosecutor classified the case as “serious injury” rather than a homicide, facing a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
The crime occurred on September 19, 2022, following an argument in a residence in A Guarda. Four people were injured, with two transported to Álvaro Cunqueiro Hospital in Vigo with serious injuries “caused by blunt objects.”
One of the injured, a 54-year-old man, died the following day.
During searches of the residence, the Spanish Civil Guard found “at least one stick,” which is believed to have been used as the weapon in the crime. The argument is suspected to be related to a drug trafficking dispute.
Months later, on February 4, 2023, the young man, then 24, was arrested by the Portuguese National Republican Guard (GNR) in Caminha.
“In the context of a patrol operation, the Guard’s officers located the suspect on the public street, who had a European arrest warrant issued for a homicide investigation that occurred in Spain, and the officers immediately approached and detained him,” stated the GNR.
The suspect was subsequently handed over to the Spanish authorities.
