Euro Weekly News | Euro Weekly News - News/Costa del Sol

Euro Weekly News | Euro Weekly News - News/Costa del Sol: "MIJAS - THE phones have not stopped ringing after the family of Irish missing expat teenager, Amy Fitzpatrick, announced they are offering a reward of one million euros to anyone who can provide information which leads to finding her. Amy’s mother, Audrey told EWN that the reward money was provided by “four Irish friends of Dave’s (Audrey’s boyfriend) living in Ireland and they want to remain anonymous.”"

Euro Weekly News | Harsher new laws to tackle pick-pockets

Euro Weekly News | Harsher new laws to tackle pick-pockets: "SPAIN - UNTIL now, repeat offenders who committed ‘petty’ crimes such as pick pocketing would only have to pay a fine, even if they committed hundreds every year. However, a change in the Penal Code which is to be approved within the next few days could see them facing prison time. Of the more than 150 changes planned for the Penal Code, this one is aimed at those that tend to steal goods and money worth less than 400 euros and who never see a day in prison. They could now faces sentences of up to six months in prison, or between three and twelve months for those belonging to a gang. They will serve the sentences on weekends and holidays at the prison closest to their home. The idea behind this is that the already overflowing prisons should not take in any more inmates. They will use cells which are vacated by those who have prison leave on the same days.
There will also be a system by which judges can check whether the delinquent is a repeat offender independently of where in Spain he or she has committed crimes before."

Marbella arch hangs in balance | The Olive Press

Marbella arch hangs in balance | The Olive Press: "future of the famous Marbella arch is hanging in the balance.Seen by some as a throwback to the years of corruption enjoyed by disgraced mayor Jesus Gil and others, the structure’s days – currently being dismantled – may be numbered.Marking the southern San Pedro entrance to the town, the arches are already being taken down as part of the A7’s new underpass.
“The Marbella Arch has been loved by residents and visitors since the early 1990s.
“It is part of the history and is an icon of Marbella.”Although the bricks are being numbered, IU councillor Enrique Monterroso believes they must go for good, describing them as “symbols of corruption”.
Town taxi drivers are also removing the arch from their vehicle logos and replacing them with the town’s blue and white flag"

Londoner was attacked in front of his girlfriend after opening his door to two men at Benalmadena

Police are hunting the killers of a British man stabbed to death with a kitchen knife at his Costa del Sol flat.The 32-year-old Londoner was attacked in front of his girlfriend after opening his door to two men at Benalmadena. One of them stabbed him twice with the knife he pulled from a kitchen drawer.The victim was dead by the time paramedics arrived.

46 year old Spanish man wanted for murder, who is reported to have been living wild in the mountains behind Estepona for the past two years

46 year old Spanish man wanted for murder, who is reported to have been living wild in the mountains behind Estepona for the past two years, has been arrested by the Guardia Civil.The man us wanted for questioning in relation to the death of a 46 year old Finish woman, resident of Estepona, was finally detained last Wednesday, and is now being held in prison on remand. The victim’s body was found on the beach in Sabinillas over Christmas 2007, with two stab wounds in the back, and wrists still bound. It’s thought the body had been chopped up, weighted, and thrown out at sea, but storms had brought it back to shore.The arrested man, who has not been named in reports, worked in the same urbanisation where the victim lived.

killed and chopped up the body of a woman and of dumping the body parts in rubbish containers along the Costa del Sol.

National Police in Málaga has said that a middle aged Spanish family man, with no previous record, confessed last week to having killed and chopped up the body of a woman and of dumping the body parts in rubbish containers along the Costa del Sol.
The police say the man, who worked as a waiter, explained that he had spent the previous night with the woman who was working as a prostitute, making the most of the fact that his wife and children were away on a family visit, and killed her on April 6 in Fuengirola. He admitted to police that he had drunk a great deal and taken cocaine, and that his memory of what happened was blurred. He remembers that there was an argument, and waking up next to the body of the 36 year old victim. He saw that his hands were cut and bruised, and spent the day inside thinking about what to do. He finally decided to go to an ironmongers to buy a saw, then cutting the woman in pieces and dumping the parts in rubbish containers across Fuengirola.
The victim has been identified as Alla Mefodova, a Ukrainian immigrant who came to Spain ten years ago and who had Spanish nationality.The man, who has not been identified in reports, has been sent to prison on remand, facing charges of homicide, and now a police search has got underway at the rubbish tips in Mijas and Casares.

Francisco Ramirez, who killed two burglars who broke into his villa in January 2006, has been found not guilty

Francisco Ramirez, who killed two burglars who broke into his villa in January 2006, has been found not guilty after the court accepted his plea of self-defence. The case against him had been brought by the widows of the two deceased.He told the court he fired his gun fearing for his own life, and the court noted that he had a licence for the pistol he used.The same court in Valencia also found seven of 11 accused guilty of several charges of violent robbery and intimidation, handing down prison terms of between 12 and 15 years.

Liverpool Echo.co.uk - News - Liverpool Local News - Notorious gangster Pancake Taylor caught on CCTV sparking brawl at Liverpool bar

Liverpool Echo.co.uk - News - Liverpool Local News - Notorious gangster Pancake Taylor caught on CCTV sparking brawl at Liverpool bar: "Taylor throwing a punch at a bouncer before a melee breaks out.
Taylor and his pals, including co-defendant Steven Nicholls, 29, can then be seen launching chairs at security staff while terrified passers-by flee to safety.
Robert Jansen, prosecuting, told how another member of Taylor’s gang then hurls a ceramic ashtray towards staff.
The Recorder of Liverpool, Judge Henry Globe QC said: “One can see how the public were protecting themselves by moving away from the area and were, no doubt, frightened by your actions and what was going on.”
Judge Globe sentenced both Taylor and Nicholls to six months behind bars.
But he suspended the prison sentence for two years because of the pair’s early guilty pleas to the single charge of affray from September 27, last year.
He also imposed a residence order on Taylor, of Edmonton Close, Kirkdale, and Nicholls, of Moss Way, Croxteth, and a three-month curfew between 7pm and 7am.
But the judge excused Taylor from the order for the last and first day of every month so he could leave the country to answer bail on a separate matter in Spain."

Naval seaman faces court martial - The Irish Times - Tue, Apr 13, 2010

Naval seaman faces court martial - The Irish Times - Tue, Apr 13, 2010: "member of the navy today denied helping import cocaine into Ireland by disclosing information on the activities of Navy ships.
Able Seaman Eoin Gray, who serves on the LE Orla , is facing five charges at a court martial at McKee Barracks in north Dublin.
Military judge Colonel Anthony McCourt told the hearing the accused was charged with disclosing the information between December 4th and 14th, 2008.
The sailor was also accused of two charges under the Misuse of Drugs Act of conspiring to help unknown persons import cocaine into Ireland and possession of cocaine.Mr Gray faces an extra charge of being in possession of eight counterfeit hair straighteners at Lower Glanmire Road, Cork, on December 15th, 2008.He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
If found guilty, he faces up to two years in a military detention centre in the Curragh army camp, Co Kildare.
He could also be dismissed from the Defence Forces."

Spain approves extradition of pilot to Argentina

Spain approves extradition of pilot to Argentina: "Spain on Friday approved the extradition of a Dutch-Argentine pilot to Argentina to face charges of throwing political prisoners out of aircraft into the sea under the military dictatorship 30 years ago.
The ruling by the Spanish government was the final step to extradite Julio Alberto Poch, a retired Argentine navy lieutenant with Dutch citizenship, to Argentina following an international warrant for his arrest last year.
Poch was arrested in Spain last September after an Argentine judge traveled to Europe and spoke to the pilot's colleagues who said he had boasted about hurling drugged prisoners into the River Plate or the Atlantic Ocean during Argentina's so-called Dirty War."

Holiday homes firm MRI leaves a TV trail of misery | Mail Online

Holiday homes firm MRI leaves a TV trail of misery | Mail Online: "Sammy Wilson, the Democratic Unionist Party MP for East Antrim, tabled an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons in February. The motion stated: 'This House notes with concern the number of UK citizens who have been victims of property fraud perpetuated by MRI Ireland; and calls on the Government to make representations to the Spanish, Turkish and Irish governments to take steps to ensure that these companies cannot continue to defraud members of the public.'"

29 year old man, who has an extradition order against him for Holland dating from the end of 2007 for armed homicide, and his 28 year old wife,

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The 29 year old man, who has an extradition order against him for Holland dating from the end of 2007 for armed homicide, and his 28 year old wife, who has been wanted by the judiciary in Spain since October 2005 for theft, were arrested after police were called to a fire at a property in the town.Police have also impounded a selection of material including a shotgun, two sub machine guns, ammunition and a top of the range vehicle among other items.

Chairman of Sevilla F.C. faces charges of illicit association, continued perversion of the course of justice, fraud, misuse of public funds

Prosecutor at the start of the ‘Minutas’ case which opened in Málaga yesterday, has claimed that the Sevilla lawyer, and Chairman of the Sevilla Football Club, José María del Nido Benavente, charged ‘out of orbit’ sums. The prosecution has described him as the grand beneficiary from the stripping of assets from Marbella Town Hall.
The lawyer managed to avoid sitting on the accused bench yesterday, by claiming his right to sit next to his lawyer, Pedro Apalategui. It meant that del Nido avoided his photo being taken with the other two main accused in the case, Marbella ex Mayor, Julián Muñoz and the ex Municipal Real Estate Assessor, Antonio Roca.The court heard the allegation that del Nido collected 6.7 million € for his work for the Town Hall, with the prosecutor, Francisco Jiménez Villarejo, describing that as ‘an inflated unjustified amount’.The Chairman of Sevilla F.C. faces charges of illicit association, continued perversion of the course of justice, fraud, misuse of public funds, falsification of documents and professional misconduct. The prosecutor wants to see a 13 year 6 month prison sentence, a ban from working as a lawyer for four years, and a ban from public office for 17 years.There is great expectation in the court today, Tuesday as José María del Nido is expected to declare.

Daniel Hastelow’s body will be dug up again, having only recently been returned from Spain.

Body of Daniel Hastelow, 26, was buried in a plot assigned to a widow who wants to be buried alongside her husband. A court ruled yesterday that the claim of Jean Best, 71, must take priority and Mr Hastelow’s body will be dug up again, having only recently been returned from Spain. remains of a murder victim are to be exhumed for the second time in six months after a vicar buried him in the wrong grave.
He was stabbed to death in Majorca in 2008 while celebrating his birthday and his family was not allowed to bring his remains home until a murder trial was concluded in September last year. Richard Roberts, 36, of Merseyside, was jailed for 18 years for the murder. Mr Hastelow’s body was buried in Walsall Wood churchyard in the West Midlands in November last year after the vicar forgot to mark out Mrs Best’s reservation. After the families failed to reach an agreement, the Archdeacon of Walsall petitioned the Consistory Court of the Diocese of Lichfield for Mr Hastelow’s body to be exhumed. At Warwick Crown Court yesterday, Judge Martin Coates granted the petition. He said: "In all the circumstances I find that the stance taken by Mrs Best has been reasonable and I am satisfied that in view of the error which has occurred here it would be right to permit an exception to the general rule that when a person is buried in consecrated ground that should be regarded as a final resting place." The body of Mr Hastelow will be exhumed and reinterred in the churchyard of St John’s Church, Walsall Wood, he said. At an earlier hearing, the Rev Nigel Carter apologised for his “foolish mistake” and was ordered to pay for the reinterment. The judge said that in the future assigned burial plots should be marked with the word “reserved”. Outside court Mr Hastelow’s mother Susan, 56, said that was little comfort. “My son has had to pay for someone else’s mistake and it doesn’t seem fair to me.” She added: “It took a long time and I thought he was at home, I thought he was at rest, and now a blunder like this.” The judge said: “Mrs Hastelow has had a wretched experience. Her son was killed when away from home and buried in a foreign land.
“It has taken a considerable amount of effort, dedication, time and fundraising to secure the return of his body to Walsall, and I accept that this mistake in the location of Daniel’s burial is heavy for her to bear.” But he found that was outweighed by Mrs Best’s legal rights. She and her husband Michael, who died of cancer in 2008 aged 72, were married in the Walsall church 50 years ago. All five of their daughters were baptised there.

British student attending the 'Salou Fest' fiesta in Salou on the Costa Brava last week, has said that she was raped

British student attending the 'Salou Fest' fiesta in Salou on the Costa Brava last week, has said that she was raped by another student. A statement from the Catalan police, Los Mossos d’Esquadra, said that the woman admitted that she hardly remembered anything about was happened as she was so drunk.Diario El Punt reports it happened in the early hours of last Wednesday as hundreds of British students were partying in the town as part of an organized trip from the U.K.
The victim and her alleged aggressor met in the Pachá discotheque and went to be beach to be alone. The woman says that she woke up later on the sand, alone and half naked. She made a complaint to the police that morning, saying that she the man had sex without her consent, even though she could hardly remember what had occurred.
Doctors from the Joan XXIII Hospital in Tarragona confirmed she had had sex, and police made an arrest.The two then declared before the judge in Instruction Court 1 in Tarragona, where the man admitted having sex. However he told the court that the woman had not resisted at any time, and he denied leaving her on the beach, but said he walked her back to her hotel.The judge ordered provisional release for the accused and put a 200m distancing order between him and the victim.It’s understood both have now returned to the U.K. on separate coaches.

Four Brits arrested in Spain accused of handling luxury cars stolen in the UK and taken to be sold on the Costa del Sol.

Four cars stolen in Britain were recovered in police raids in Marbella, Fuengirola and Torremolinos.An Italian was also arrested.Those held, who are aged 35 to 60, all have criminal records in Spain. They are accused of handling stolen property and falsifying documents.Police said they had been driving around in the stolen vehicles.

suspected paedophile working as a taxi driver on the run in Spain was arrested

suspected paedophile working as a taxi driver on the run in Spain was arrested after Brit holidaymakers recognised him from a TV appeal.Niki Hindley, 26, and Lee Doherty, 26, were stunned when they saw Glen Tranter's face on BBC's Crimewatch - just 24 hours after returning from a break in Malaga.Tranter - wanted in the UK for a string of sexual offences against young girls - had driven them the 20 minute journey to and from the airport in his Ford Galaxy boasting how he was living the high-life in the sun.After recognising him, sickened Lee immediately called the police - and Tranter, 40, was arrested in Spain.The dad-of-one said: "I was just stunned to see his picture looking back at me and yelled for Niki to come and see.
"We knew straight away that he was the man the police were looking for. Niki and I both felt there was something not quite right with him the moment we met him."
Niki added: "It's just sickening when you think of the crimes he is wanted for - I'm glad we were able to bring him back to Britain to face charges."Tranter was featured in an appeal on the BBC Crimewatch show on Monday. A number of eagle-eyed Brits spotted him and called police who later traced him.Tranter, who fled from Colne, Lancs, is wanted on eight charges of sexual offences against girls under 16. He is being held in Malaga pending an extradition hearing.Det Insp Dave Groombridge from Lancashire Police said: "This demonstrates just how valuable programmes such as Crimewatch can be."

group of Muslims tried to pray inside a Roman Catholic cathedral that was originally a mosque and then scuffled with security guards

group of Muslims tried to pray inside a Roman Catholic cathedral that was originally a mosque and then scuffled with security guards and police officers who tried to stop them, a Spanish official said Friday. Two of the tourists were arrested Wednesday night in the southern city of Córdoba, a spokeswoman for the National Police, Rosa Ortiz, said. Ms. Ortiz said the two detainees were among a group of Muslim tourists from Austria. The Great Mosque of Córdoba was transformed into a cathedral in 1236. Since then, except for rare exceptions, Muslim prayer rites have been forbidden inside.

Mexico Drug Gangs Attack Army Bases - 18 Dead In Gun Battles As Drugs War Escalates | World News | Sky News

Drug gangs in Mexico have attacked two army bases in a serious escalation in the country's drug war. Attempts to blockade army bases were among the attacks
Eighteen gang members died in the ensuing gun battles, in which gunmen attacked in force in bulletproof vehicles, using hand grenades and assault rifles.
The attempts to blockade soldiers inside their bases were part of seven attacks across two northern border states of Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon - areas that have seen escalating violence in recent months. Army General Edgar Luis Villegas called the attacks 'desperate reactions by criminal gangs to the progress being made by federal authorities' on Mexico's drug cartels. He said gunmen parked trucks and SUVs outside a military base in the border city of Reynosa trying to block troops from leaving. At the same time, other armed men blocked several streets leading to a garrison in the nearby border city of Matamoros.
And yet another gang opened fire from several vehicles on soldiers guarding a road in General Bravo, in Nuevo Leon.
Troops fought back, killing 18 gunmen and wounding two.
The violence mainly involves a fight between the Gulf cartel and its former allies, the Zetas - a gang of hit men.
The cartel, which has apparently formed an alliance with other cartels seeking to exterminate the Zetas, has been warning people in the region that the conflict would get worse over the coming months."

Marbella man stabbed in domestic violence incident

man is in hospital in Marbella after being stabbed by his partner, who is reported to have then tried to commit suicide. It happened at 2am on Thursday at the couple’s home in San Pedro de Alcántara. Police were called to the scene on reports of a possible case of domestic violence, in which two people, both Spaniards, were injured. The man is now in the Costa del Sol Hospital with two stab wounds, while Diario Sur reports that his wife also needed attention for some cuts. She remains under police custody in hospital, and is expected to make a statement to the judge shortly."