Arrested a man accused of robbing elderly women with great violence on the street in Gandia (Valencia)

Agents of the National Police have arrested a 35-year-old man in Gandia (Valencia) as the alleged perpetrator of two crimes of robbery with violence and intimidation since he allegedly approached two elderly women, aged 83 and 89, when they were passing through the street and after yanking their bags hard and throwing them to the ground, he ran away with his belongings.

Both had to be assisted by the health services as a result of the injuries suffered in the fall, as reported by the Police in a statement.. The now arrested allegedly also injured a witness to the events who tried to retain him.

The investigations began when the police learned that several violent robberies had been committed against elderly people in Gandia.

One of these events took place on July 28 when an 89-year-old woman was approached while walking down the street, in broad daylight, by a man who gave her a strong tug on the wallet she was carrying in her hand, snatching it away and throwing the woman against the sidewalk. The victim was injured and had to be treated by the health services.

After several investigations, the police found out that a week later, another 83-year-old woman, who was using a cane to walk, had also been approached from behind in the same way and dragged “brutally” to the ground by a man who he ran away with his bag.

The old woman was also injured and the attacker, in his escape, also injured a passerby who tried to hold him back. The man was able to get free and injured the person who was trying to restrain him on the wrist with a multi-tool. Both victims had to be assisted by the health services.

modus operandi

In the course of the investigation, the agents, with the collaboration of the Gandia Local Police, found out the identity of the suspect and found that in both cases it was the same person..

The suspect's modus operandi consisted of following at a short distance, in broad daylight, the elderly and people with mobility problems and, when he reached their height, he pushed them hard, snatched their belongings and made them fall to the ground. ground before running away.

After locating the suspect, the agents arrested him last Friday as the alleged perpetrator of two crimes of robbery with violence and intimidation and seized a mobile phone that would have been stolen. The arrested man, with a police record for similar events, has gone to court and has entered prison.