This Monday, the trial with a popular jury against José Lomas, 81, nicknamed the “old vigilante” of this Castilian-La Mancha town, who in the summer of 2021 shot dead a criminal who was trying to rob, begins in the Provincial Court of Ciudad Real. in his house. The accused faces a request for a sentence of twelve and a half years in prison for the crime of homicide, as well as compensation of 46,800 euros for each of the victim's parents and 17,900 for each of his three brothers.
The events occurred in the early morning of August 1, 2021 in a country house located on the outskirts of the capital Ciudad Real, in the La Atalaya forest park. José, a well-known bookseller who had retired for years, woke up to some noises coming from his plot. Startled, he grabbed a shotgun and went outside. There he surprised a man carrying an unlit chainsaw and several tools that he had stolen from the shed on his plot and shot him with the shotgun.
Three shots fired about five meters away were fatal as they hit the chest and back squarely. Minutes later he called the National Police to report what happened. The deceased turned out to be a 35-year-old man, of Honduran origin and with numerous records of robberies that, in addition, he had tried to rob other homes near José's. According to the prosecution, José acted “with the intention of ending the intruder's life.”
José Lomas, upon his release from Herrera de la Mancha prison in May 2022.
Antenna 3
The same thesis is maintained by the private prosecution, which requests a 25-year sentence for the accused and denies that the deceased had any intention of stealing. In fact, he maintains that he accessed the plot and took the chainsaw because he wanted to cut some almond trees to eat. For his part, the defense of the “old vigilante” asks for free acquittal, understanding that he acted in self-defense and out of fear, alleging in this regard that shortly before that fatal event they had tried to rob his house.
Nine months in jail
José Lomas was held as a preventive prisoner in the Herrera de la Mancha prison, in Manzanares (Ciudad Real) from his arrest the day after the events until May 2022 when he was provisionally released after paying bail of 5,000 euros. Returning to the street was not an easy task since his lawyer had requested his provisional release on several occasions with negative results because the judge investigating the case considered that the old man's reaction had been disproportionate.
Finally, the judge accepted her lawyer's request for two reasons: the suspension of sentences for those over 70 years of age with health problems and the fact that there was no flight risk for the octogenarian. Since then, José has had to appear in court every week after handing over his passport and agreeing not to leave Spain.
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