ARCHIVED - Serial street robber jailed after attacks on victims from behind in Alcoy
The 35-year-old allegedly targeted vulnerable people while they were alone in Alcoy, Alicante.
A suspected serial street robber accused of multiple attacks on vulnerable people in the street and in cars has been sent to prison provisionally awaiting trial.
The 35-year-old allegedly used the 'pull' method to startle his lone victims from behind before robbing and often injuring them.
All seven violent incidents took place in the same Alcoy neighbourhood, with the first reported in mid-May, and local police quickly established a connection with victims giving a similar description in each case.
The National Police then launched their own investigation and, after identifying a suspect, set up a surveillance operation.
They discovered the detainee had tried to sell jewellery and other stolen items in various pawn shops in Alcoy, some of which were confirmed as belonging to victims and returned.
Several victims and an eyewitness to one of the robberies later identified the suspect from photographs taken by investigators, and the Spanish man was arrested.
He appeared at a court in Alcoy this week, charged with seven robberies, and was ordered straight to prison awaiting trial.
IMAGE: Policia Nacional