The Guardia Civil has arrested a young man, aged 22 and resident of Cartagena, for allegedly pretending to be the victim of an assault in Cabo de Palos. After a quarrel, he injured himself with a bottle on his arm and denounced another young man for the aggression.
The investigation began when a resident of Cartagena reported to the Guardia Civil having been assaulted by another young man in the course of a fight, which occurred in the early hours of the morning, in a leisure area of the Cartagena municipality of La Manga. The injury report showed that he had undergone surgery as a result of a cut to his forearm.
Investigators from the Benemérita gathered all the information and began investigations to identify, locate and arrest the suspect, who was known to be a resident of La Manga.
The civil guards took statements from the other youths involved in the brawl and collected images from the security cameras in the area. The videos showed how the alleged aggressor did nothing but repel the attacks of a group of youths while they threw chairs, bottles and other objects within their reach.
This information, together with the different contradictions of the eyewitnesses, led the investigators to suspect that the young man had not assaulted the complainant.
The key to the investigation turned out to be the statement of the manager of a leisure establishment, who witnessed the fight, in which he affirmed that it was the complainant himself who broke a bottle and seriously injured his arm.
The investigation has ended with the arrest of a young man, aged 22 and a resident of Cartagena, as the alleged perpetrator of the crime of simulation of a crime.
Article 456 of the current Penal Code states that those who, with knowledge of its falsity or reckless disregard for the truth, impute to any person facts which, if true, would constitute a criminal offence, if this imputation is made before a judicial or administrative official who has the duty to proceed with its investigation, shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of six months to two years and a fine of twelve to twenty-four months, if a serious offence is charged, by a fine of twelve to twenty-four months, if a less serious offence is charged, or by a fine of three to six months, if a minor offence is charged.
The detainee and the proceedings have been handed over to the Magistrate’s Court of Cartagena.
