The confessed perpetrator of the kidnapping of the Maracena councilor, provisionally released since July 31

Pedro Gómez, the man accused of kidnapping the then Maracena (Granada) councilor Vanessa Romero on February 21, was provisionally released on July 31, after five months behind bars. This has been confirmed to this newspaper by his lawyer, who explains that the investigating judge justified the decision in the time spent in pretrial detention, in which there is no risk of escape and in which the tests that are yet to be carried out will substantially lengthen the entire procedure. . Gómez must appear every Monday to sign in court, he must comply with a restraining order from the victim and he is prohibited from going to Maracena.

The kidnapping of the mayor Romero precipitated a political earthquake that has ended the public career of the former mayoress, Berta Linares —who at the time of the events was Gómez’s partner—, also accused in the case; with the temporary cessation of the number three of the Andalusian PSOE, Noel López; and with a change in the municipal government, where the Socialists had held power since 2007.

It was the statements of Gómez -who suffers from a mental illness- before the judge that put the focus on the then mayoress; the Councilor for Town Planning, Antonio García Leyva; and López, Secretary of Organization of the Andalusian PSOE and predecessor in the position of Linares, of which he is also a cousin. The kidnapper argued, although without providing any evidence, that he had perpetrated the illegal retention at the indication of the three who, always according to their version —which could not be confirmed either by the position of their mobile phones, or by the owner of the premises— as stated in the court records―, they had met in a restaurant at the beginning of January and urged him to “give a scare” to Romero because of the bad relationship Linares had with her.

The victim, in her statement before the judge, acknowledged that during the time she was kidnapped, Gómez did not stop reproaching her for the hardship she was giving her then girlfriend: “The way you cry, that’s how I’ve seen her cry her because of you,” Romero said before the magistrate.

Gómez entered prison on February 24, three days after using the excuse that his car had broken down, he asked Romero to take him to City Hall. There began a kidnapping that lasted about two hours in which he threatened the councilor with a fake gun, tied her with zip ties, forced her to get into the trunk of the vehicle, left her alone and locked up on the outskirts of Maracena while he returned. to the municipality to buy a knife and black electrical tape at a hardware store. He also gave her time to get a haircut at a nearby barber shop. In that interval, Romero managed to get out of the car and called for help. Gómez was arrested shortly after.

The summary secrecy of the case was lifted three days before the municipal elections, knowing that the judge requested the opening of a separate piece before the Superior Court of Justice for López, Linares and García Leyva because he understood that being the first registered and being the three linked in their alleged involvement in the kidnapping should be investigated jointly. None of the three had been called to testify in all that time. The TSJA ruled out charging the Andalusian PSOE leader and referred the case to the investigating court which, finally, called to declare the former mayor and the councilor, who in June defended his innocence, as defendants.

What affects the most is what happens closer. To not miss anything, subscribe.

subscribe

Sources familiar with the case tell this newspaper that the examining magistrate has asked to carry out more than 60 tests as a result of the statements by Linares and García Leyva, whose execution will take a long time, according to what the judicial police have transferred to the magistrate and that would explain their decision to authorize Gomez’s parole. The measure, explains his lawyer, was requested in mid-July and was carried out on the 31st of that month, the date he was released from prison. Gómez is, until now, one of those investigated who has remained in prison.

Parallel to the investigation surrounding the kidnapping of the Maracena councilor, the judge has opened another case to investigate alleged illegal urban planning that also became known as a result of Romero’s statements, in which he maintained that his suspicions about certain files they contributed to the existing feud between her and the then mayoress.

#confessed #perpetrator #kidnapping #Maracena #councilor #provisionally #released #July