The second session of the trial for the brutal beating of Alexandru Ionita, a 25-year-old young man today in a practically vegetative state, has focused on those who assaulted him, beat him viciously, even with sticks and bottles and, once on the ground, the near death, they robbed him. Ertzaintza agents have made it clear that several of the accused were registered by the Central Investigation Unit of the Basque Police for their membership in "a gang or criminal group" and that during the night in which they destroyed Alexandru they robbed, humiliated and They beat up other people, using a similar modus operandi. One of the agents, in fact, added that, from the analysis of her phones, it appears that they acted like this "every weekend."
The second day of the trial of the seven adults who participated in that attack - another eight minors were tried and convicted a year ago - has also served to overthrow one of the pretexts that the accused used during the previous day: that of alcohol consumption. as an excuse to point out that they did not remember what happened and, basically, limit their statements to a recurring “I was drunk, I don't remember.” One of the agents who participated in the identification of the young people, during the same morning of July 25, 2021, indicated, verbatim, that "they were in perfect condition, they understood us and obeyed what we told them." “They were normal and calm, they said they had not done anything,” added another agent.
During the trial, the videos that the authors themselves recorded during that night and uploaded to social networks were re-watched; according to one of the agents, in order to “assert their supremacy or display their joy and fun.” “In the years that I have been there, I have never seen that the criminal himself has recorded his crimes and uploaded them to the networks,” he clarified.
These videos, uploaded to TikTok, and the rest of those reported for other crimes committed that night have served to show that the brutal attack on Alexandru Ionita was not an isolated event, but that the young people went out that night to commit crimes. In fact, the first incident of which they are aware at the hands of those involved, a robbery with violence, took place on the same train, upon arriving in Amorebieta.
From there, the Basque Police link the accused with half a dozen robberies, robberies with violence and assaults; some were reported by the victims and others were recorded by those involved, without the victims being able to be identified.
One of the agents who investigated the case has indicated that the modus operandi was similar. They surrounded the victims, tried to intimidate them, even using broken bottles, and if they tried to flee, they swept them in order to knock them down, beat them, and rob them.
Some of these crimes were carried out in the same Jauregibarria park, minutes before beating Alexandru Ionita, and in the case of two of them, also robberies with violence, they took place after leaving the young man on the verge of death, as published by La Vanguardia. In that case, the two young people who they tried to rob and attack managed to flee.
The modus operandi explained by the agent coincides with the data that the Ertzaintza Central Intelligence Office had on some “criminal groups”, such as Los Hermanos Koala, a gang with which several of the accused are linked.
“In May 2021 we received an intelligence alert from colleagues who controlled the gangs and criminal groups. They informed us of groups such as Los Hermanos Koala or Santutxu 480, who met to attack each other, but who also cornered victims alone or who went in pairs, to steal money, cell phones...”, he indicated. The agent added that several of those prosecuted for the brutal group beating that destroyed Ionita were on the list of people linked to those gangs, specifically to Los Hermanos Koala.
Another Ertzaintza agent has clarified that "the conversations between the accused show that they are part of a group" and that they acted in the same way "every weekend", robbing and attacking boys and girls who were alone or as a couple. .
This analysis of the cell phones also speaks of problems with other gangs and, especially, of a feeling of impunity on the part of those involved, who "laughed at the victims" or even at the Lehendakari, when he told the media that they would catch the culprits. of having left Ionita on the verge of death. The same agent has indicated that there was a hierarchy within the band, with Deyson Rodrigo as a reference for the rest of the members of the band, a person they refer to as “papi”, whom they ask for advice and who expressed his intention to flee to France if Alexandru died.
Whether or not the accused belong to a criminal gang, Los Hermanos Koala, is one of the keys to the trial for the family's lawyer, who demands permanent, reviewable prison. The Prosecutor's Office, meanwhile, requests sentences of 14 years and 8 months for the crime of attempted homicide.
The defenses of the seven defendants, meanwhile, have tried to separate each of their clients from the specific blows that left Ionita in a practically vegetative state. Taking advantage of the darkness of the video and the sudden camera movements, the defense lawyers have sought to limit the presence of their clients to a position of intimidation or even, in one of the cases, one of the lawyers has suggested that his client could have tried to intercede so that they did not hit him, something that one of the agents has flatly denied.
