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The Handy Thief: How a Builder Operated to Steal in an Alicante Municipality

The Handy Thief: How a Builder Operated to Steal in an Alicante Municipality

He exploited the trust of victims to search through homes until he found the stolen jewellery and money.

Tere Compañy Martínez

Alicante

Sábado, 1 de febrero 2025, 11:35

He advertised on a social network, gained the trust of victims by doing home repairs, and then returned to steal valuables. National Police officers have arrested a 41-year-old Spanish man, accused of one count of burglary and two of theft after posing as a 'multiservice' worker to access two family homes and steal anything of value he could find.

The National Police became aware of the situation following a report filed by one of the victims, a resident of the Alcoy municipality, who urgently sought the help of a multiservice professional through a popular social network group after experiencing a burst pipe in her home.

After repairing the pipe and gaining the victim's trust, the alleged 'handyman' was tasked with other repairs and masonry work at both the complainant's home and her mother's.

The accused even managed to obtain a set of keys, which he used to enter and exit the property freely, under the pretext of carrying out the repairs only in the mornings when the owners were away at work. This provided him with enough cover to gradually locate and steal jewellery, money, and other items without arousing any suspicion.

It was when one of the victims noticed the disappearance of a piggy bank containing around 600 euros inside that they realised something was amiss. In addition to the piggy bank, they missed gold jewellery of incalculable sentimental value and cash totalling over 6,000 euros, prompting them to report the incident to the National Police Station in Alcoy.

With the information provided by the victims, the Judicial Police conducted the necessary investigations with the gold and pawn shops in the Alcoy municipality, finding some of the stolen jewellery. To the surprise of both investigators and victims, the items had been sold by the man working as a 'handyman', who was the primary suspect as he was the only outsider to have accessed both homes.

The National Police, after identifying and locating the main suspect, proceeded to arrest him for one count of burglary and two counts of theft, noting that he already had previous police records for similar offences. The financial gain received by the suspect from the sale of the stolen jewellery, without the knowledge or permission of the rightful owners, amounts to over 1,600 euros. The investigation remains open to locate some of the stolen jewellery that has yet to be found.

The detainee, after the completion of police procedures, was brought before the duty magistrates in the same locality.

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