The Third Section of the Alicante Provincial Court has sentenced a man to three years in prison for attempted murder following a stabbing during a fight in Ondara. The incident took place on the morning of 1st January 2023 outside a pub in the municipality.
The dispute originally began inside the venue between the attacker and another man who was accompanied by his cousin. During the argument, the perpetrator repeatedly threatened to kill him before the venue staff ejected everyone involved from the premises. The confrontation continued outside, where the victim stepped in to separate the two men and fell to the ground. The attacker took advantage of the situation to plunge a penknife into the left side of the fallen man’s body with the intention of taking his life before fleeing the scene.
The victim was rushed to Denia Hospital for urgent surgery, where doctors had to remove his spleen due to severe tearing. He required 80 days to recover from his injuries.
Following an agreement between the prosecution and defence, the court handed down a final ruling. The sentence applies a highly qualified mitigating factor for damage reparation, as well as a mitigating factor for impairment caused by the consumption of drugs and alcohol.
The court set total compensation at 22,000 euro, comprising 8,000 euro for physical and psychological injuries, and 14,000 euro for lasting consequences. The convicted man paid the full sum into the court account before the trial. He is also banned from approaching the victim within 300 metres or communicating with him by any means for seven years.
Despite the three-year custodial sentence, the court agreed to suspend the prison term under Article 80.5 of the Penal Code at the request of the defence and without objection from the Public Prosecutor. The decision was made after the man provided an official report certifying that he is undergoing rehabilitation for substance abuse, primarily involving cocaine and cannabis. The suspension is conditional on him committing no further crimes over a four-year period and completing his addiction treatment programme.
