This Monday, the Public Court of Zaragoza hosted the first session of an unprecedented trial in the Aragonese capital. This is the first time that the popular jury has been involved in the decision before a fatal hit and run. This is not the only notable fact since the private prosecution goes so far as to request a 20 years in prison for the accused for intentional homicide.
This is the trial of the attack against Álvaro, a young man of 18, who was ending his night after having spent it in a nightclub with his friends and He ended up losing his life. The facts occurred on February 27, 2022 at 7:10 a.m. on José de Atarés Avenue. Luigi Anthony VM was driving his Peugeot 3008 after finishing his night of partying and Álvaro was walking down the road with his friends.
At a gas station, the accused ran over Álvaro, who died a few hours later from severe head trauma. This 18-year-old young man was not the only victim since the accused also dragged Paula, who ended up suffered serious injuries to his right foot, the consequences of which he suffered. In addition to Karen, recently included as a victim by the Provincial Court. This young woman was an eyewitness and friend of both and has serious psychological problems.
Luigi Anthony, instead of stopping, continued on his way until he was stopped by police officers in a street in the Arrabal neighborhood. Therefore, both the private accusations and the Prosecutor’s Office present him as a intentional homicide and not such reckless homicide, as these types of fatal accidents are generally categorized.
During this first session of the trial, which will last all week, the testimonies of the accused were collected. Luigi Anthony VM supported throughout the issues handled both by the prosecution and by the lawyers who make up the private prosecution I didn’t remember him driving.
Thus, he reported that on the night in which the events occurred, he started with some work colleagues in Plaza Salamero after leaving his vehicle on the corner of Conde Aranda Street and Pignatelli Street. Admitted to drinking four rum and Coca-Cola cocktails before entering a nightclub located on the said square. This was confirmed by breathalyzer tests carried out after his arrest, during which he gave a result of 0.51 mg/l.
However, he points out that it was inside the nightclub that he stopped remembering after drinking a glass of jäger with Red Bull that a friend gave him. “I started to feel bad,” detailed the accused.
From that moment on, the night seemed blurry to him and he claimed to have only a “flash” of being outside the nightclub, getting off a bus and finding himself in front of his vehicle parked in the Arrabal district: “I didn’t understand what was happening because there was a round knock on the window”underlined Luigi Antony VM in response to questions handled by the prosecution, Rosa Senra.
The accused maintained throughout his story that he is a person “I wasn’t used to partying” because he took care of his children. And besides, it cannot be that the drink affected him in this way: “At that time, I weighed 100 kilos, the four glasses I drank could not have affected me”, defended Luigi Anthony VM.
“He could have done something.”
The private accusation brought by José Enrique Villén, representative of the mother of Álvaro and of Paula and Karen, maintains that Luigi Anthony VM “he could have done something and he didn’t“. Antonio Torrús defends this same line, on behalf of the father of the deceased, who emphasizes that “he was fully aware of it.” “Without braking or maneuvering, knowing very well in advance that As a result of this decision, one of these young people could die.“, underlined the lawyer before the popular jury.
Considering the civil liability already paid by the insurer, the lawyer said: “No claim is possible when a child is lost.“, he concluded.
For this reason, the two private charges request 20 years in prison for Luigi Anthony VM 15 of them for the offense of homicide and the remaining 5 for the offense of injury. By treating themselves as they do, they defend intentional homicide because it is a crime of conduct with disregard for human life. This same opinion is shared by the prosecution, which, for its part, asks for 14 years in prison.
Meanwhile, the defense exercised by José Luis Melguizo asks the free absolution. He thus refuted that a 20-year prison sentence for these events was equivalent to criminal acts such as an attack with a knife or a “shooting”. He therefore defends that it is not an intentional homicide but rather a serious and reckless homicide. “I doubt he intended to kill these young people about whom he knows nothing.“, defended the lawyer.
Thus, the popular jury trial continues throughout the week. This Tuesday will take statements from eyewitnesses to the accident and the police.
