Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Criminal Court number 2 has sentenced the driver who killed a musician in Pasito Blanco on February 5, 2019 while he was fleeing from the Civil Guard, to ten years and six months in prison.
The judge accepted the merits of prosecutor Cecilia Acebal’s request for eight and a half years in prison for the crimes of reckless driving in contest with homicide through serious recklessness and one count of an attack causing injuries, and in addition, admitted the private prosecution request from lawyer Idoia Mendizábal adding two years for the crime of “omission of the duty of relief” having failed to stop and assist the man injured as a result of the crash. The man has been ordered to compensate a Guardia Civil agent with €2,400 euros for injuries sustained and the Guardia Civil with €1,391.41 for damage to a patrol car.
Judge Mónica Oliva considered it proven that a the Civil Guard agents involved had received instructions to identify the occupants of the vehicle in which Evaristo José Pérez was driving, on which basis, when they saw him around 5:00 p.m. that afternoon, they made a U-turn and approached the car signalling for him to stop. The defendant halted his vehicle on the right side of the highway at kilometre 19 of the GC-500 national road. However, when the agent got out of the patrol car to move towards the vehicle driven by Evaristo José Pérez, the driver “started abruptly” and the Guardia Civil agent had to quickly get back into the police car to prevent the defendant’s vehicle from hitting him. This initiated a southbound pursuit during which the guilty man “intercepted the trajectory” of other vehicles which had to “abruptly reduce their speed so as not to collide,” according the ruling.
The defendant had denied responsibility and tried to blame the crash on the Guardia Civil who were chasing him.
Evaristo José Pérez was pursued by the agents who signalled for him to stop and, on the contrary, he continued in his flight, passing other vehicles, invading the opposite lane and driving in a zigzag in order to grab drugs packages that he had inside the car and throw them out the window . At kilometre 55 he slowed down, so the patrol moved to his right and he “braked and swerved” hitting the official car, forcing them off the road. The driver took advantage of this to take the slip road link towards Pasito Blanco and, when taking the branch heading in the direction to Meloneras, he lost control and collided with another car being driven by a well known Canarian musician, Miguel Estupiñán, in a full frontal collision, causing his death as a result of head and thoracic trauma that led to traumatic shock.
When the agents pursuing arrived at the scene of the crash, they saw the condemned man – who has a pre-existing criminal record for the crimes of murder, damage and injuries and endangering public health – flee on foot “in order to avoid arrest.” He kicked one of the Civil Guards in the left wrist, who finally managed to detain him. The musician’s brothers claimed compensation of €33,960.07, paid by the insurance company for Evaristo José Pérez’s car. The convicted man may appeal before sentence is carried out.
